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Updated: Jul 6, 2025
An In Vitro Approach to Photodynamic Therapy
Published on: August 17, 2018
Investigating the effects of a temperature dependent photodynamic dose: A numerical study
Andrew Effat1, Nicholas Bernards2, Runjie Bill Shi3
1Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Thoracic Surgery, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Significance:
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) show promise as cancer treatments, but challenges in generating large ablative volumes for deep-seated tumours persist. Using simulations, this study investigates combined PDT and PTT to increase treatment volumes, including the impact of a temperature-dependent PDT dose on the treatment volume radius.
Approach:
A finite-element model, using the open-source SfePy package, was developed to simulate combined interstitial photothermal and photodynamic treatments. Results compared an additive dose model to a temperature-dependent dose model with enhanced PDT dosimetry and examined typical clinical scenarios for possible synergistic effects.
Results:
Findings revealed that the temperature-dependent dose model could significantly expand the damage radius compared to the additive model, depending on the tissue and drug properties.
Conclusions:
Characterizing synergistic effects of PDT and PTT could enhance treatment planning. Future work is ongoing to implement additional variables, such as photosensitizer photobleaching, and spatial and temporally varying oxygenation.
