Photodynamic Therapy: Advancing Lung Cancer
Treatment
Among the latest and most promising treatments
available in the fight against advanced stage
lung cancer is the use of photodynamic therapy
(PDT) in combination with surgery.
PDT is an accepted treatment for lung
cancer of the airway and has been successful
for both carcinoma in situ (cancer that has
not spread and is found only in the location
it originated) and obstructing airway disease.
How Does Photodynamic Therapy Work?
To combat lung cancer, the second most common
cancer and leading cause of cancer-related
death of U.S. men and women, photodynamic therapy
uses light-sensitive medication (sometimes
called a photosensitizing agent) together with
low-level beams of light to destroy cancer
cells. Depending on the part of the body being
treated, the medication is either injected
into the bloodstream or applied to the skin.
After the drug is absorbed by the cancer cells,
a light source is applied to the area being treated.
The light causes the drug to react with oxygen,
which forms a chemical that kills the cancer
cells. PDT may also work by destroying the blood
vessels that feed the cancer cells and helping
the immune system attack the cancer.
PDT can only be used to treat areas that light
can reach, so it is mainly used for cancer on
or just under the skin, or in the lining of internal
organs. While the medications used in PDT may
travel throughout the body, the treatment works
only at the area exposed to light. PDT is not
effective in treating extensive cancers.
Benefits of PDT
The benefits of PDT include:
- Less invasive than surgery
- Targets cancers very precisely
- Can be repeated several times at the same
site if necessary (unlike radiation)
- May result in less scarring
Clinical research is ongoing for both early
and more advanced stages of lung cancer. This
research aims to improve what is now considered
the standard of care treatment, as well as to
improve the quality of life for patients diagnosed
with lung cancer.
In addition to treating lung cancer, PDT is
utilized by the University of Pennsylvania Health
System to treat other cancers, including melanoma and esophageal and ovarian cancers.
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