PDT for Basal Cell Carcinoma: A Long-Term Follow-Up

Long-term results show 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy to be beneficial for basal cell carcinomas when surgery is not a good option.

Although surgical removal is the mainstay of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) therapy, additional options are desirable in some situations. One alternative is 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT), but data are scarce concerning which BCC types are amenable to this treatment and long-term outcomes. In this study, investigators treated 60 BCCs in 44 patients with one or two sessions of ALA-PDT and followed them for 10 years. Morpheaform and pigmented BCCs were excluded from treatment, but recurrent lesions were included. The protocol involved debulking of the tumor, treatment with the drug penetration enhancer dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) for 5 minutes, followed by ALA-PDT. ALA was activated by a broadband light unit with an emission sp…

Reviewing Author

Craig A. Elmets, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory board Astellas Pharmaceuticals

EquityVaxin

Grant / Research support NIH; NIH/NCI; Veteran’s Administration; Ferndale Laboratories; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Inc.

Editorial boards Cancer Prevention Research; Photodermatology, Photoimmunology, & Photomedicine; UpToDate; eMedicine; Journal of Dermatological Sciences; JAMA Dermatology

Leadership positions in professional societies American Academy of Dermatology (Vice Chair, Committee on Science and Research); Photomedicine Society (Board of Directors)