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A light in multidrug resistance: Photodynamic treatment of multidrug-resistant tumors

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Journal of Biomedical Science

Abstract

The major drawback of cancer chemotherapy is the development of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tumor cells, which are cross-resistant to a broad range of structurally and functionally unrelated agents, making it difficult to treat these tumors. In the last decade, a number of authors have studied the effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT), a combination of visible light with photosensitizing agents, on MDR cells. The results, although still inconclusive, have raised the possibility of treating MDR tumors by PDT. This review examines the growing literature concerning the responses of MDR cells to PDT, while stressing the need for the development of new photosensitizers that possess the necessary characteristics for the photodynamic treatment of this class of tumor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departmento de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

    Márcia Alves Marques Capella PhD

  2. Departamento de Clínica Médica, Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

    Luiz Sabbatini Capella

  3. Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CCS-Bloco G, 21949-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Márcia Alves Marques Capella PhD

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  1. Márcia Alves Marques Capella PhD
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  2. Luiz Sabbatini Capella
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Capella, M.A.M., Capella, L.S. A light in multidrug resistance: Photodynamic treatment of multidrug-resistant tumors. J Biomed Sci 10, 361–366 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02256427

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