<title>Photodynamic therapy of cancer: five-year clinical experience</title>

Abstract

The results of application of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for treatment of malignant tumors of skin, breasts, tongue, oral mucose, lower lip, larynx, stomach, bladder, rectum and other localizations were assessed. In 1992 - 1997 more than 1200 tumoral foci in 288 patients have been treated with PDT. Most of the patients have been taken for PDT for tumoral recurrences or intradermal metastases after surgery, gamma- therapy or combined treatment. A certain number of patients had not been treated before due to severe accompanying diseases or old age. Russian photosensitizers Photoheme in dosage 1.0 - 5.0 mg/kg body weight, and Photosense in dosage 0.5 - 1.5 mg/kg body weight were used. Laser irradiation was performed using Coherent 'Innova-200' and Russian laser devices: copper vapor-pumped dye laser (wavelength 630 nm, output power -- 5 W), gold-vapor lasers (wavelength 628 nm, output power -- 2 W), solid-state laser (wavelength 670 nm, output power -- 2 W). In several cases non-laser light emitting devices have been employed. Up to date we possess the follow-up data in term from 2 months to 5 years. Therapeutic effect took place in 94.4% of the cases, including complete tumor resorption in 56.2% and partial resorption in 38.2% of the cases. The results of PDT application for treating malignant tumors allow one to estimate PDT as an adequate technique and in some tumor localizations PDT might become a method of choice. This new promising technique of cancer treatment is successfully applied in Russia. New photosensitizers and sources of light for PDT and fluorescent diagnostics are being developed.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.