PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT FOR SURGERY IN A PATIENT WITH LUNG-CANCER UNDERGOING BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

We describe a patient who suffered from a bacterial pneumonia and had a left-sided infiltrate on his chest radiograph. He was found to be cy topenic and acute myeloid leukemia was diagnosed. A complete remission was achieved after chemotherapy, and the patient was scheduled to hav e autologous bone marrow transplantation. Bronchoscopy was performed b ecause of persistent hemoptysis and a squamous cell carcinoma in the r ight upper lobe bronchus was found. This small tumor was successfully treated with photodynamic therapy preventing any delay in the treatmen t of his leukemia, which would have occurred if surgery had been the t reatment of choice. The patient is still in complete remission after a follow-up period of 12 months.