Cancer treatment by photothermal, photochemical, and photobiological interactions

Abstract

Laser tissue interactions hold great promise in cancer treatment. Photothermal interaction aims at the direct cell destruction through the increase of local tissue temperature, while photochemical interaction aims at the cell destruction using free radicals produced through the activation of photosensitizers in the target tissue. Photobiological interaction can target the immune host system to induce long-term control. Photothermal and photochemical interactions can be significantly enhanced by photobiological interaction through the use of immunoadjuvants. In our experiments, three different immunoadjuvants, complete Freund’s adjuvant (CF), incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IF), and c-parvum (CP), were used in the treatment of metastatic mammary tumors in conjunction with photothermal interaction. In addition, a specific adjuvant, Glycated chitosan (GC), has been used in combination with photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of mouse tumors. In the treatment of rat tumors, CF, IF and CP raised the cure-rates from 0% to 18%, 7% and 9%, respectively. In comparison, GC resulted in a 29% long-term survival. In the treatment of EMT6 mammary sarcoma in mice, GC of 0.5% and 1.5% concentrations increased the cure rates of Photofrin-based PDT treatment from 38% to 63% and 75%, respectively. In the treatment of Line 1 lung adenocarcinoma in mice, a 1.67% GC solution enabled a non-curative mTHPC-based PDT to cure a 37% of the tumor bearing mice.