title: Photodynamic therapy for pancreatic carcinoma: experimental and clinical studies.
abstract: Pancreatic carcinoma is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United Kingdom, with an overall 5-year survival of less than 5%. Attempted curative surgery is possible in less than 20% of cases and is associated with a 5-year survival of just 10-20%. Palliative radio-chemotherapy improves symptoms of pancreatic cancer but rarely extends median survival beyond 12 months. There is a need to develop novel therapies that improve outcome. Photodynamic therapy, which is a way of producing localised non-thermal tissue necrosis with light, is currently under evaluation as a treatment for pancreatic cancer. This review will examine some of the mechanisms underlying photodynamic therapy, and the preclinical work, which has led to this treatment being piloted in human studies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Royal Free and University College London Medical School, 69-75 Chenies Mews, London WCIE6HX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lakshmana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ayaru
authors.affiliation: National Medical Laser Centre, Department of Surgery, Royal Free and University College London Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephen G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Bown
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Royal Free and University College London Medical School, 69-75 Chenies Mews, London WCIE6HX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Pereira