Photodynamic therapy and the treatment of neoplastic diseases of the head and neck: an update

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Abstract
Forty-nine patients with neoplastic diseases of the larynx, oral cavity, pharynx and tracheobronchial tree have been treated with photodynamic therapy with follow-up to 40 months. Those patients with primary recurrent leukoplakia, carcinoma-in-situ, and T1 carcinomas obtained a complete response after one photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment and remain free of disease. Eight patients with T2 and T3 carcinomas treated with PDT obtained a complete or partial response, but in all cases, the carcinomas recurred locally, many times with overlying normal mucosa. This is due to the inability to adequately deliver laser light to the depths of the tumor bed, despite aggressive use of interstitial implantation. PDT is highly effective for the curative treatment of early carcinomas (CIS, T1) of the head and neck. Further development of devices to measure and deliver light into the depths of a tumor bed are required prior to the use of PDT to effectively treat larger solid tumors of the head and neck.

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