[The wider application of photodynamic therapy in dermatology]

Photodynamic treatment is increasingly employed in the detection and treatment of malignant and non-malignant skin disease. --Indications for photodynamic therapy so far are actinic keratosis, Bowen's disease and superficially growing basal cell carcinomas, and probably verrucae and acne vulgaris. --This technology is also currently under investigation for fluorescence diagnostics oftumour margins. --The exact position of photodynamic therapy has not yet been established because there are too less long-term comparative studies demonstrating its effectiveness. --Based on the short-term results, photodynamic therapy deserves a place within the total therapeutic arsenal of the dermatologist of today for the indications mentioned above.