title: Evaluation of the efficacy of photodynamic therapy for the treatment of actinic cheilitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Actinic cheilitis (AC) is a lip intraepithelial neoplasia, whose cells present alterations similar to those presented by invasive squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To conduct clinical and laboratory evaluation by histopathology and immunohistochemistry of the efficacy of actinic cheilitis treatment using photodynamic therapy (PDT) with methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) and noncoherent red light.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with actinic cheilitis detected by histopathological examination were submitted to two sessions of photodynamic therapy with a two-week interval between them. They were examined immediately after the sessions, four, six, and twelve weeks after beginning treatment when a new biopsy was carried out. Clinical histopathological and immunohistochemical parameters were evaluated before and after treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 23 patients who underwent biopsy, 16 completed two photodynamic therapy sessions and the material of one patient was insufficient for immunohistochemistry. Complete clinical response was achieved in 62.5% (10 of 16 patients) and 37.5% still remained with clinical evidence of AC. In spite of this, no case of cure by histopathological analysis was found. There was no significant statistical change among the values of Ki-67, survivin, and p53 observed before and after treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Photodynamic therapy, as carried out in this trial, was not an efficacious therapeutic option for treating patients with actinic cheilitis included in this sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das Clinicas, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Yuri N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das Clinicas, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Antonio
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Torezan
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das Clinicas, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Silvia Vanessa
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Lourenço
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculdade de Medicina Hospital das Clinicas, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cyro Festa
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Neto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002613:Cheilitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003116:Color; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077022:Survivin; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: C107489:BIRC5 protein, human; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents; D000077022:Survivin; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; C475457:methyl 5-aminolevulinate; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid
keywords: actinic cheilitis; immunohistochemistry; photodynamic therapy