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EN Photodynamic therapy
Photodynamic therapy Overview
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a two-stage treatment that combines light energy with a photosensitizer drug designed to destroy cancerous and precancerous cells after light activation. Photosensitizers are activated by a specific wavelength of light energy, usually from a laser. The photosensitizer is nontoxic until it is activated by light. However, after light activation, the photosensitizer becomes toxic to the targeted tissue.Several photosensitizer drugs are available today to treat a variety of cancers, such as skin, lung, brain, bladder, pancreas, bile duct, esophagus, and head and neck. Studies have shown that this light-based therapy can trigger the body's immune response, giving your body another means to help destroy cancerous and precancerous cells. Photodynamic therapy is used to treat a variety of conditions, including:
● Actinic keratosis● Advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
● Barrett esophagus
● Basal cell skin cancer
● Esophageal (throat) cancer
● Non-small cell lung cancer
● Squamous cell skin cancer (Stage 0)
● Esophageal cancer when it blocks the throat
● Non-small cell lung cancer when it blocks the airways
When cells that have absorbed photosensitizers are exposed to a specific wavelength of light, the photosensitizer produces a form of oxygen, called an oxygen radical, that kills them. Photodynamic therapy may also damage blood vessels in the tumor, which prevents it from receiving the blood it needs to keep growing. And, it may trigger the immune system to attack tumor cells, even in other areas of the body.
Photodynamic therapy process
It is a two-step process. You will first receive a photosensitizer. The drug may be taken by mouth, spread on the skin, or given through an IV, depending on where the tumor is in the body. After 24 to 72 hours, most of the drug will have left normal cells but remain in cancer or precancer cells. Then your tumor will be exposed to the light source.How the light is applied depends on where the tumor is. For skin tumors, the light is aimed right at the cancer. For tumors in the throat, airways, and lungs, your doctor will insert an endoscope down your throat. An endoscope is a thin, lighted tube that can help the doctor see inside the body. Once the endoscope is in place, the doctor threads a fiber optic cable that transmits light through it to reach the treatment areas.
One type of photodynamic therapy called extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is used to treat abnormal white blood cells that can cause skin symptoms in people with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. In ECP, a machine collects your blood cells, treats them with a photosensitizer, exposes them to light, and then returns them to your body through a needle in a vein. Most often, you will have photodynamic therapy as an outpatient, which means you go home after treatment and do not spend the night in the hospital. You may have photodynamic therapy by itself, or you may have it along with other cancer treatments