Photodynamic Therapy and Its Use in Lung Disease

Photodynamic therapy for treatment of recurrent adenocarcinoma of the lung with tracheal oligometastasis

“…Penetration of light is limited to 1cm from the tissue surface but can be overcome by interstitial placement of the rigid diffuser. The light initiates an intracellular photo-oxidative reaction, which converts molecular oxygen into singlet oxygen and free radicals that lead to tumor vessel thrombosis, cell membrane damage, and consequently cell death [ 23 ]. The higher concentration of porfimer sodium in malignant cells and targeted light exposure to the lesion make it a relatively selective intervention for malignant lesions providing an advantage over other non-selective ablative modalities [ 10 ].…”

“…Few studies reported duel bronchoscopic intervention (cryoablation followed by PDT) to treat endotracheal primary or secondary malignancies with curative intent leading to CR without any complication. Authors used PDT (tumor selective modality) after cryoablation to treat the minimal residual lesions in which margins cannot be appreciated with naked eye [ 23 , 24 ]. Recently, Mehta and colleagues evaluated the role of PDT for positive margins after resection of NSCLC in individuals who are not candidates for repeat surgical intervention or radiotherapy.…”

Commentary: Sunlight, lasers, or knives? How to treat typical carcinoid tumors

“…Patients with complete obliteration of tumor and negative posttreatment biopsy have been shown to be disease free for up to 10 years. 4 Shah and colleagues 2 describe 2 patients treated with PDT for endobronchial typical carcinoid. Both patients were treated with porfimer sodium before light exposure, followed by 200 J/cm of treatment.…”

“…Patients with complete obliteration of tumor and negative posttreatment biopsy have been shown to be disease free for up to 10 years. 4 …”

Light-based technologies for management of COVID-19 pandemic crisis

“…In terms of the application of aPDT to treat COVID-19 patients, it is encouraging to note that this technique is already used to treat several respiratory diseases [ 76 ]. PDT has been used for decades to treat lung cancers and its successful application in the treatment of laryngeal papillomas has also been reported [ 77 ].…”