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Photodynamic therapy of cancer. Basic principles and applications

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Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive therapeutic modality approved for clinical treatment of several types of cancer and non-oncological disorders. In PDT, a compound with photosensitising properties (photosensitiser, PS) is selectively accumulated in malignant tissues. The subsequent activation of the PS by visible light, preferentially in the red region of the visible spectrum (λ≥600 nm), where tissues are more permeable to light, generates reactive oxygen species, mainly singlet oxygen (1O2), responsible for cytotoxicity of neoplastic cells and tumour regression. There are three main mechanisms described by which 1O2 contributes to the destruction of tumours by PDT: direct cellular damage, vascular shutdown and activation of immune response against tumour cells. The advantages of PDT over other conventional cancer treatments are its low systemic toxicity and its ability to selectively destroy tumours accessible to light. Therefore, PDT is being used for the treatment of endoscopically accessible tumours such as lung, bladder, gastrointestinal and gynaecological neoplasms, and also in dermatology for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers (basal cell carcinoma) and precancerous diseases (actinic keratosis). Photofrin®, ALA and its ester derivatives are the main compounds used in clinical trials, though newer and more efficient PSs are being evaluated nowadays.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, ES-28049, Madrid, Spain

    Ángeles Juarranz & Francisco Sanz-Rodríguez

  2. Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro Jaén & Salvador González

  3. Servicio de Patología, Hospital de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Spain

    Jesús Cuevas

Authors
  1. Ángeles Juarranz
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  2. Pedro Jaén
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  3. Francisco Sanz-Rodríguez
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  4. Jesús Cuevas
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  5. Salvador González
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ángeles Juarranz.

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Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Roche Farma S.A.

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Juarranz, Á., Jaén, P., Sanz-Rodríguez, F. et al. Photodynamic therapy of cancer. Basic principles and applications. Clin Transl Oncol 10, 148–154 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-008-0172-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-008-0172-2

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