Photodynamic therapy for treatment of malignant cutaneous lesions

Photodynamic therapy, employing either hematoporphyrin derivative or dihematoporphyrin ether as the photosensitizer and an argon-pumped tunable dye laser as the activating light source, was used to treat ten patients who had primary or recurrent basal or squamous cell carcinoma or infiltrating ductal cell carcinoma lesions metastatic to the skin. Of the 155 sites that were treated, various degrees of edema, erythema, and necrosis, sometimes accompanied by blistering, were evident in all areas within 24 to 48 hours of light treatment. While our follow-up periods are short, four patients are free of disease at eight months or more posttreatment, two patients have had recurrent and/or persistent disease within four months, and four patients died within nine months from metastatic disease or unrelated disorders. Continued investigation into the use of photodynamic therapy for treatment of malignant lesions appears warranted, based on these preliminary clinical results.