What is vascular targeted photodynamic therapy?
For the first step in this procedure, the cancerous cells must be made light sensitive via a photosensitizing agent. It uses a drug, called a photosensitiser. This drug is administered through a vein in the arm and is attracted to prostate cancer cells, but is not activated until it is exposed to light energy, usually from laser. Second step, is to allow an incubation period for the medication to take effect, which can range from a few minutes to a few hours. The final step is to deliver light to the prostate from a laser, along thin optical fibres. These optical fibres are put into the prostate within clear hollow plastic needles. The needles are put in under general anaesthetic. Then, the activated drug can kill the cells around the light fibre, by producing reactive oxygen species. These are powerful forms of oxygen which can either kill cells directly, or attack the blood vessels which supply the prostate cancer cells. Most used photosensitiser drug in prostate cancer treatment is
