Trial reportJournal of cosmetic dermatology2025
Efficacy and Safety of Generic Fluocinolone Acetonide, Hydroquinone, and Tretinoin Cream Compared With TRI-LUMA for the Treatment of Moderate-To-Severe Melasma in Chinese Patients: A Randomized, Single-Center, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Decoding Hyperpigmentation from Biological Mechanisms to Actives with Clinically Proven Topical Efficacy: A Narrative Review.Dermatology and therapy · 2026Review
- An Updated Review of Topical Tretinoin in Dermatology: From Acne and Photoaging to Skin Cancer.Journal of clinical medicine · 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
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTreatment with fluocinolone acetonide, hydroquinone, and tretinoin cream is the gold standard for melasma; however, the effects of this treatment in the Chinese population remain unclear. Due to the differences between Chinese and Caucasian subjects, further clinical trials in Chinese patients with melasma are needed.
aimTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of fluocinolone acetonide, hydroquinone, and tretinoin creams in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe melasma.
methodsWe recruited 53 patients who received a generic formulation (triple combination cream, TCC), brand formulation (TRI-LUMA), or placebo once daily for 8 weeks. In weeks 4 and 8, efficacy was evaluated based on the Melasma Severity Scale and Melasma Area and Severity Index. In addition, safety was assessed based on the incidence and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events.
resultsThe generic TCC group achieved 52.2% efficacy compared to 57.1% in the TRI-LUMA group. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse effects between the TCC and TRI-LUMA groups (69.6% and 90.5%, respectively; p > 0.05). The incidence of adverse events in the placebo group was 0%.
conclusionGeneric TCC was as effective as TRI-LUMA and had a similar safety profile in this study of Chinese subjects with moderate-to-severe melasma.
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Registered trials
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