What is photodynamic therapy?
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new anticancer treatment of solid tumors in animals. After a special drug has been administered to the patient, a laser light source causes tumor death by activating the drug locally. A laser light source is used to activate a photosensitizer absorbed in the tissue from the special drug. Once activated, it releases free radicals that damage the tissues. The depth to which the laser can activate the photosensitizer is typically only a few millimeters, limiting the use of PDT to superficial tumors or treatment during surgery.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a special form of phototherapy, a term which includes all treatments which use light to induce reactions in the body which are of benefit to patients. PDT is a developing technique which can potentially destroy unwanted tissue, whilst sparing normal tissue. First a drug called a photosensitiser is administered to the patient, usually by injection. The photosensitiser alone is harmless and has no effect on either healthy or abnormal tissue. However, when light (often from a laser) is directed onto tissue containing the drug, the drug becomes activated and the tissue is rapidly destroyed, but only precisely where the light has been directed. Thus, by careful application of the light beam, the technique can be targeted selectively to the abnormal tissue. Some of the drugs being developed also have the desirable property of concentrating in tumours (and certain other kinds of proliferating tissue) relative to the surrounding healthy tissue, which also helps in
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