Single visit PDT for basal cell carcinoma - A new therapeutic protocol

Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in Brazil and worldwide. Topical Photodynamic Therapy is a technique that offers advantages as: excellent aesthetic result, possibility of application for outpatients in ambulatory setting, and presenting a minimum functional impact of the treated anatomic site. Fractionated Photodynamic Therapy is a modification of the usual technique in which the full dose of light is delivered in steps separated by a periods of time ("dark intervals"). In Brazil, no studies using this technique for treatment of BCC have been published. Thus, we proposed to evaluate the complete and partial response to the four different protocols of fractional Photodynamic Therapy, when evaluated 30 days after treatment. The study showed a complete response of 65.8%, 67.6%, 72.7% and 95.4% in the groups 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. We observed that the dark interval and the irradiated light dose are parameters of great importance for the final response to the treatment. Our results suggest that Fractionated Photodynamic Therapy is a technique with excellent aesthetic result and complete response when evaluated 30 days after treatment. However, a longer follow-up will be necessary for better understanding of the behavior of the lesions treated.