Photodynamic Therapy for Mesothelioma

Todd Demmy, MD, clinical chair, Department of Thoracic Surgery, professor of oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, discusses photodynamic therapy for the treatment of mesothelioma.

Clinical Pearls:

• With photodynamic therapy, patients are given a drug that concentrates in tumor cells. A special light is then used to active the chemical, which kills the tumor cell.
• This therapy is useful for diseases that are hard to treat surgically and is currently being used to treat mesothelioma
• After a tumor is removed from a mesothelioma patient, the photodynamic agent photofrin is given to the patient and photodynamic therapy is performed to treat the microscopic cancer that is left behind
• This reduces the stress and complications of surgery that are usually associated with mesothelioma surgery