Current Status and Future Perspectives of the Photodynamic Therapy for Early Stage Cancer and Dysplasia of the Uterine Cervix

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a conservative treatment modality using the combination of a photosensitizer possessing high tumor affinity and irradiation with laser at a low intensity low level laser emission and which enables selective destruction of cancerous or dysplastic cells while preserving the uterus. The indications for PDT in Japan are early stage lung cancer (including a part of advanced or recurrent lung cancer), early stage superficial esophageal cancer, early stage superficial gastric cancer, and dysplasia and early stage cervical cancer of the uterine cervix. Porfimer sodium (Photofrin) is approved in Japan as the photosensitizer for the gynecologic cancer. Excimer Dye Laser and YAG-OPO laser are approved in Japan as the laser apparatus for PDT. In this paper, I will describe current status and future perspectives of the PDT for early stage cancer and dysplasia of the uterine cervix, PDT in the foreign countries, and R&D status of the second generation of PDT for the uterine cervical cancer in Japan.