Rr. Allison et al., PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF NONMELANOMATOUS CUTANEOUS MALIGNANCIES, Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery, 17(2), 1998, pp. 153-163
Photodynamic therapy (PDt) is a modality whose concept is not new to d
ermatologists, PDT has gained regulatory approval in the United States
for the treatment of esophageal and lung malignancies. the field has
grown over the lest decade, and now phase II/III clinical trials using
second generation drugs for the treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers
, palliation of metastases to the skin, and Kaposi's sarcomas have bee
n introduced. These new sensitizers tend to reduce the one side effect
of PDT, namely persistent generalized cutaneous photosensitivity. PDT
hers shown efficacy in (1) patients who have failed conventional ther
apies, and for whom local treatment options are limited (2) patients i
n whom surgery would result in cosmetic disfigurement, and (3) patient
s prone to developing multiple lesions as in Gorlins syndrome. Dosimet
ry is based on well-understood treatment matrices that have optimized
light delivery with known photosensitizer administrations. The advanta
ges of PDT for cutaneous malignancies include the ability to treat num
erous lesions in one setting, in a noninvasive manner without any appa
rent concern for the development of carcinogenicity. Copyright (C) 199
8 by W.B. Saunders Company.