Progress in Clinical Trials of Photodynamic Therapy for Solid Tumors and the Role of Nanomedicine

Current research to find effective anticancer treatments is being performed on photodynamic therapy (PDT) with increasing attention. PDT is a very promising therapeutic way to combine a photosensitive drug with visible light to manage different intense malignancies. PDT has several benefits, includi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancers 2020-09, Vol.12 (10), p.2793
Main Authors: Alsaab, Hashem O., Alghamdi, Maha S., Alotaibi, Albatool S., Alzhrani, Rami, Alwuthaynani, Fatimah, Althobaiti, Yusuf S., Almalki, Atiah H., Sau, Samaresh, Iyer, Arun K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodistribution
Blood circulation
Brain cancer
Breast cancer
Cancer
Cancer therapies
Chemotherapy
Clinical trials
Cytotoxicity
Disease
Immune system
Immunotherapy
Innovations
Light
Medical research
Nanoparticles
Nanostructured materials
Nanotechnology
Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacokinetics
Photochemotherapy
Photodynamic therapy
Radiation
Reactive oxygen species
Review
Skin cancer
Solid tumors
Toxicity
Tumors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Current research to find effective anticancer treatments is being performed on photodynamic therapy (PDT) with increasing attention. PDT is a very promising therapeutic way to combine a photosensitive drug with visible light to manage different intense malignancies. PDT has several benefits, including better safety and lower toxicity in the treatment of malignant tumors over traditional cancer therapy. This reasonably simple approach utilizes three integral elements: a photosensitizer (PS), a source of light, and oxygen. Upon light irradiation of a particular wavelength, the PS generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), beginning a cascade of cellular death transformations. The positive therapeutic impact of PDT may be limited because several factors of this therapy include low solubilities of PSs, restricting their effective administration, blood circulation, and poor tumor specificity. Therefore, utilizing nanocarrier systems that modulate PS pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) is a promising approach to bypassing these challenges. In the present paper, we review the latest clinical studies and preclinical in vivo studies on the use of PDT and progress made in the use of nanotherapeutics as delivery tools for PSs to improve their cancer cellular uptake and their toxic properties and, therefore, the therapeutic impact of PDT. We also discuss the effects that photoimmunotherapy (PIT) might have on solid tumor therapeutic strategies.
ISSN:2072-6694
2072-6694
DOI:10.3390/cancers12102793