title: Photodynamic therapy as an innovative treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma.
abstract: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) of the pleura is an experimental treatment aimed at eradicating residual microscopic disease after macroscopic complete resection of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) by means of intracavitary administration. A light-based treatment, PDT consists of 3 components: a nontoxic photosensitizing compound, oxygen, and visible light. The treatment is FDA-approved for several oncological targets, but remains experimental for MPM. PDT can be combined with lung-sparing pleurectomy and decortication and does not preclude other treatments such as adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Additionally, PDT appears to bolster an immunologic effect by rendering the cancer cells that have been destroyed by the light-activated photosensitizer more presentable to the immune system. Local control and survival rates have been sufficiently rewarding to merit ongoing development of this combination of surgical technique and PDT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center-Presbyterian, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. joseph.friedberg@uphs.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Friedberg
mesh_terms: D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D006801:Humans; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery; D018579:Patient Selection; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D013906:Thoracoscopy; D016896:Treatment Outcome