Photodynamic treatment for cancers of the head and neck

A clinical study using photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of head and neck cancer was conducted between 1988 and 1994. 83 patients with Tis-2 tumors of the face, oropharynx and larynx were included into the study protocol. The study was designed in accordance with the GCP-guidelines as a prospective controlled protocol. At 48 h after an intravenous injection of 2 mg kgbw-1 Photosan-3 the laser illumination (630 nm) of the tumor and tumor-surrounding tissue was performed at 100 mW cm-2 and 100 J cm-2. A control biopsy from the former tumor area was taken 2 months after PDT to evaluate the histological response of the treated tumors. 51 out of 57 patients with basal cell carcinoma, 6 out of 7 patients with squamaous cell carcinoma of the skin, 6 out of 7 patients with oropharynx carcinoma and 11 out of 12 patients with larynx carcinoma showed a complete histologically confirmed response to the tumor following a single course of PDT over a follow up time of 13-71 months.