POSSIBILITIES OF LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCEN CE DIAGNOSTICS AND PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY IN SKIN METASTASES OF CARCINOMA OF THE BREAST AND EXTRAMAMARIAN PAGETS-DISEASE IN THE PERINEAL REGION

Photodynamic laser therapy was developed as a new approach in the trea tment of superficial tumours. For treatment we use a photosensitising drug which is applied intravenously. This is activated by light of a c ertain wavelength. Contrary to conventional laser therapy the antitumo rous effect is not caused by thermal but by photo-chemotoxic activity. In the Women's University Hospital in Heidelberg the photodynamic the rapy is a palliative method in the treatment of recurrent skin metasta ses of breast cancer after conventional methods failure of conventiona l methods (excision, thermical laser destruction, radiation, chemother apy). After histological examination of biopsies of the treated skin t issue we found a very high response rate of the tumour cells after las er treatment with tumour cell destructin from 70-100%. Tissue biopsies in the long term follow-up are still missing. Different indications ( i.e. extramammarian M. Paget) are explored and planned for controlled clinical trials.