[Photodynamic therapy in patients with recurrent gynecologic cancers]

Patients with recurrent gynaecological carcinomas have a poor prognosis, with a survival of a few months. Three patients with a recurrent vulva carcinoma, one patient with a recurrent cervical carcinoma, one patient with a recurrent endometrial carcinoma, and one patient with a recurrent breast carcinoma underwent PDT after parenteral or topical sensitisation with Photosan 3. From these patients, two of them showed a complete response with no evidence of disease for 32 and 29 months. One patient responded partially with two recurrences, which were treated twice after tropical sensitisation, living now 21 months. The remaining three patients showed partial response and died 3 to 8 months after PDT. The energy applied was derived from an argon-dye-laser ranging between 225 and 750 joule/cm2. Photosan 3 was given intravenously at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight and was tolerated without any allergic reaction. The response rate in three of six patients in recurrent gynaecological malignancies encourages us to pursue PDT in gynaecological disease.