Treatment of Actinic Keratosis with Photodynamic Therapy Using Red or Green Light: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Actinic keratosis (AK) is the most common in situ cancerous skin lesion. Compared with other approved treatment modalities photodynamic therapy is preferred by patients due to faster recovery and improved cosmetic outcome. However, pain during irradiation is an important drawback. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of topical aminolaevulinic acid-photodynamic therapy in the treatment of AK on the head using red and green light. Complete remissions after 3 sessions of photodynamic therapy at 2-week intervals following 9 months of observation were 91.67% for red light and 86.67% for green light (difference not significant). The mean pain value was significantly greater in areas irradiated with red light compared with green light for all 3 sessions. This comparative study demonstrates that aminolaevulinic acid-photodynamic therapy with green light is of similar efficacy as that with red light in the treatment of middle/moderate AK, but causes less pain.

Application of photodynamic therapy with the use of superluminescent light-emitting diode (sLED) lamp in actinic keratosis

“…There exist a number of modifications of the photodynamic therapy, whose aim is to obtain the best therapeutic effects with the possibly the smallest side effects. Some authors claim that repetition of the procedure every 2 weeks decreases the risk for disease recurrence [9]. Performing an individual procedure may not suffice in case of thick lesions (grade 3, and sometimes 2 according to the Olsen scale), what we observed in the presented patient case (case 1) with regard to his eyebrow arch.…”

“…Efficacy of AK treatment involving photodynamic therapy reaches 75-92% [9]. In this method, lesions covering the face respond to treatment better than the no rumień o dużym nasileniu z niewielkim obrzękiem i punkcikowatym sączeniem wydzieliny surowiczej.…”

“…Podczas wizyty kontrolnej po tygodniu od naświetlania stwierdzono niewielkie złuszczanie oraz strup- [10]. Red light is most commonly used thanks to its good penetration into the tissue [9]. Photodynamic therapy with ALA is ranked high among AK treatment methods thanks to its efficacy and beneficial safety profile [11].…”

“…Skuteczność leczenia AK przy użyciu terapii fotodynamicznej wynosi 75-92% [9]. Tej metodzie lepiej poddają się zmiany zajmujące twarz w porównaniu z innymi okolicami skóry [10].…”

“…Tej metodzie lepiej poddają się zmiany zajmujące twarz w porównaniu z innymi okolicami skóry [10]. Najczęściej wykorzystywane jest światło czerwone w związku z jego dobrym przenikaniem w głąb tkanki [9]. Ze względu na skuteczność i korzystny profil bezpieczeństwa terapia fotodynamiczna z użyciem ALA zajmuje wysoką pozycję wśród metod leczenia AK [11].…”