Trial reportActa dermato-venereologica2024
Efficacy of Spironolactone Compared with Doxycycline in Moderate Acne in Adult Females: Results of the Multicentre, Controlled, Randomized, Double-blind Prospective and Parallel Female Acne Spironolactone vs doxyCycline Efficacy (FASCE) Study.
Trial report in Acta dermato-venereologica, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Oral Spironolactone for Women With Acne Vulgaris: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials With Trial Sequential Analysis.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of Spironolactone in treating patients with acne vulgaris: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 1,086 patients.Archives of dermatological research · 2025Pooled it
- Acne vulgaris: a clinical update.Australian prescriber · 2026Review
- Beyond Isotretinoin: A Narrative Review of Emerging Systemic Therapies for Moderate-to-Severe Acne.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2026Review
- Acne tarda: Recommendations for classification, treatment and care as a result of an expert discussion.Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG · 2026Review
- Oral and Topical Spironolactone in Adult Female Acne: A Narrative Review Comparing Systemic and Local Approaches.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2026Review
- Optimal Use Recommendations and Stewardship Principles with Oral Antibiotics in Acne Vulgaris Management: An Expert Consensus Panel.The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology · 2025Review
- Evaluation of the Percentage of Monocyte Subpopulations with TLR2 and TLR4 Expression About Selected Skin Functional Parameters in Patients with Acne Vulgaris-Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Obesity: A Modulator in Acne Management.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2025Review
- Off-Label Treatment in Inflammatory Skin Diseases-European Point of View.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Challenges in designing a randomized, double-blind noninferiority trial for treatment of acne: The SD-ACNE trial.Clinical trials (London, England) · 2025Article
- Hormonal Therapies for Acne: A Comprehensive Update for Dermatologists.Dermatology and therapy · 2025Review
- Efficacy and Safety of Hormonal Therapies for Acne: A Narrative Review.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors at 10 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Acne in adult females is triggered mainly by hormones. Doxycycline is a reference treatment in acne. Spironolactone targets the androgen receptor of sebaceous glands and is prescribed off-label for female adult acne. This multicentre, controlled, randomized, double-blind prospective and parallel study assessed the efficacy of spironolactone compared with doxycycline in adult female acne. A total of 133 women with moderate acne were randomized to receive treatment with: (i) doxycycline and benzoyl peroxide for 3 months followed by a 3-month treatment with its placebo and benzoyl peroxide, or (ii) spironolactone and benzoyl peroxide for 6 months. Successfully treated patients continued with benzoyl peroxide or spironolactone alone for a further 6 months. Primary endpoints were treatment success at month 4 and month 6 with the AFAST score. At all visits, the ECLA score, lesion counts, local and systemic safety and quality of life were assessed. Spironolactone performed better at month 4 and showed a statistically significant better treatment success after 6 months than doxycycline (p = 0.007). Spironolactone was 1.37-times and 2.87-times more successful compared with doxycycline at respective time-points. AFAST and ECLA scores, as well as lesion counts always improved more with spironolactone. Patients' quality of life was better with spironolactone at month 4 and month 6. Spironolactone was very well tolerated. This is the first study to show that, in female adults with moderate acne, treatment with spironolactone is significantly more successful than doxycycline and very well tolerated.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.