Sublingual administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid for laser-induced photodiagnostics and photodynamic therapy of oral cavity and larynx cancers

Abstract

BackgroundThe study aimed to develop a method for sublingual administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid to patients and evaluate its effectiveness in fluorescence diagnostics and photodynamic therapy of neoplasms of the oral cavity and larynx. MethodsThe boundaries of the neoplasms were established by the video-fluorescence diagnostics and clarified using spectral-fluorescent diagnosis before and after photodynamic therapy. ResultsThe fluorescence diagnostics demonstrated a high accumulation of protoporphyrin IX, induced by sublingual administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid to patients before the photodynamic therapy and photobleaching of protoporphyrin IX in pathologically altered tissues after the photodynamic therapy. Glucose contained in the sublingual dose supports active transport of 5-ALA into the cells. It increases the PpIX accumulation in the cells, therefore improving the PD and PDT efficacy. ConclusionThe study and the initially obtained results demonstrated the possibility and effectiveness of laser-induced photodiagnostics and photodynamic therapy with sublingual administration of 5-ALA to patients with premalignant lesions of the oral cavity and larynx. It can eliminate the threat of the transformation of these diseases into malignant tumors and prevent the need for surgical treatment.