Clinical efficacy and safety of benzoyl peroxide for acne vulgaris: Comparison between Japanese and Western patients

Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) has been well established as a common medication for acne vulgaris in many countries (e.g. in Europe and the USA), where clinical data have been accumulated over a long time. In Japan, the use of BPO for acne treatment was approved in 2014, and the results of clinical trials in Japanese patients have recently been reported. This review compares clinical study results between Japanese and Western patients. Clinical studies that had been performed in Western countries were searched on the basis of the criteria, double-blind studies of BPO monotherapy and comparison with a vehicle group. Two reports of Japanese studies were also selected by using the same criteria. Efficacy was assessed by comparing the mean difference between the BPO and the vehicle groups for reduction rate in the number of lesions from baseline, and there were no differences between Japanese and Western patients. Safety assessment also showed that the incidence of adverse events was higher in Japanese patients than in Western patients, but the characteristics of the adverse events were not different. Therefore, we conclude that there are no significant differences in the efficacy and safety of BPO between these patient populations. The efficacy and safety of long-term use in Japanese patients are also expected to be applicable to those in Western patients.