Effects of photodynamic therapy for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in vivo and in vitro

Abstract

Abstract. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an ablative treatment leading to intracellular photoexcitation and injury. A total of 15 patients with superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) without metastasis underwent PDT and 48-72 h after intravenous Photofrin, the patients were treated with a 630-nm excimer dye laser. A total of 13 patients had local tumor recurrence after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) consisting of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin (CDDP). Of 6 patients, 5 had submucosal ESCC and were treated with S-1. Complete reponse was achieved by 11 patients with initial PDT, but 2 had recurrences. The recurrent/residual tumors were successfully treated with repeated PDT. Two patients with intramucosal ESCC succumbed due to metastatic disease, but 11 patients were disease-free. The 5 patients treated with S-1 remained alive despite submucosal ESCC. PDT was applied to human ESCC cells in vitro in the presence or absence of 5-FU or CDDP. The combination of PDT with 5-FU or CDDP resulted in enhanced cytotoxic effects, thereby reducing the effective dosage of each drug. PDT is a promising treatment option for selected ESCC cases, particularly for local recurrence following CRT. Our experience suggests that PDT is more effective when combined with chemotherapy.

Nanotechnology-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer: A Review

“…The combination of at least two different treatment modalities is one of the strategies to overcome tumor resistance. For example, combination of PDT and chemotherapy was extremely efficient in eliminating cancer cells as shown by our group [21] and others [24,25,26].…”

Using Light for Therapy of Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)

“…The first obvious answer is that PDT, in principle, may be effective against some cancers, based on results of experiments in-vitro, rodent models, and clinical studies. Examples of cancers, where encouraging results with PDT have been obtained in-vitro include breast cancer [11], oesophageal cancer [12], liver carcinoma [13], and colorectal cancer [14]. Further information on in-vivo application of PDT can be found elsewhere [15].…”

In vivo fluorescence navigation of gastric and upper gastrointestinal tumors by 5-aminolevulinic acid mediated photodynamic diagnosis with a laser-equipped video image endoscope

“…Otherwise, premalignant and early-stage malignant lesions in the lung and esophagus were detected based on systemic administration of the other photosensitizing drugs such as Photofrin [21,22]. However, Photofrin involves considerable drawback of the long-lasting phototoxic skin reactions even for weeks or months [21][22][23]. ALA offers several advantages including nominal risk of side effects and skin phototoxicity within 1 or 2 days [19].…”