Photodynamic Therapy for Treating Mesothelioma and Other Types of Cancer
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) for treating mesothelioma and other types of cancer involves combining pharmaceuticals with physics in an effort to kill cancer cells and impede their ability to spread. Researchers have developed drugs that are designed to react to certain wavelengths of light called photosensitizers or photosensitizing agents which, when exposed to a specific type of light, creates a type of oxygen that kills nearby cells.
Different wavelengths of light have the ability to penetrate our bodies to specific depths so depending on the cancer’s location in the body, a certain drug is administered and then the patient is exposed to the corresponding wavelength of light which disrupts a cancer cell’s ability to divide and multiply. However, since current PDT technology can only penetrate tissue to a depth of no more than 1 centimeter or so, PDT is often used on or just below the surface of the skin. But PDT can be combined with surgery or the insertion of an endoscope to treat affected areas which are much deeper in the body.
How is Photodynamic Therapy Performed?
First, the patient is injected with a photosensitive drug which travels through the bloodstream and is absorbed by cells all over the body. As the drug lingers in cancer cells longer than normal cells, doctors wait one to three days and then treat the tumor with a specific wavelength of light. The photosensitive drug remaining in the cancerous cells then creates a form of oxygen which destroys the cancer cells.
In certain cases, PDT can be used to target and destroy the blood vessels to a tumor and thereby reduce its ability to grow. In another interesting application of photodynamic therapy combined with immunotherapy, PDT is used to stimulate the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells.
There are some side effects of PDT which are temporary and not considered serious but include:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Burns
- Scarring
- Stomach Pain
- Difficulty swallowing
- Shortness of breath
- Eye sensitivity to light which lasts a few weeks
There are studies underway to create photosensitive drugs that are more powerful as well as new ways to deliver light to denser tissues and treat larger tumors which are currently poor candidates for PDT treatment. As more advances are made with photodynamic therapy and new pharmaceuticals become available, the future of PDT treatment for treating mesothelioma and other forms of cancer either as a stand-alone treatment or combined with multimodality therapy and other treatments is quite good.