FRIDAY, Dec. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Photodynamic therapy may be a useful alternative induction modality in patients with locally advanced primary non-small-cell lung carcinoma, researchers report in the December issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
Patrick Ross Jr., M.D., of the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of 41 patients with non-metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer who had induction photodynamic therapy in addition to chemotherapy, radiation or both. Three patients had photodynamic therapy only.
After induction therapy, 50 percent of those thought to be unresectable had pneumonectomy or lobectomy, 27 percent originally thought to require pneumonectomy had a lobectomy and 10 remained unresectable. The pathological stage was lower than before induction in 14 of 22 cases, four of whom had no residual tumor. For lobectomy, the mean survival was 35.9 months, for pneumonectomy 25.5 months, and 14.7 months for no surgery. Median survival was 78 percent (one year) and 46 percent (three years).
"Photodynamic therapy may define an alternative induction strategy for patients requiring pneumonectomy; further studies exploring the true efficacy of photodynamic therapy as an induction modality are encouraged," the authors conclude.
Abstract
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