For the millions of people who suffer from acne, sun damage or even worse, skin cancer, there is a light of hope – photodynamic therapy or PDT.

Originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat cancer, dermatologists initially focused on using photodynamic therapy to treat actinic keratoses, the earliest stages in the development of skin cancer.

As photodynamic therapy treatments became refined, the therapy expanded to provide patients with a safe, non-invasive treatment option for acne, sun damage and potentially basal and squamous cell carcinomas, the two most common forms of cancer in the world.

Today dermatologists are using PDT to successfully treat a variety of medical and cosmetic skin conditions.

Photodynamic therapy is a non-invasive treatment which uses a laser or light energy to activate a photosensitizer or photosensitizing agent called aminolerulinic acid (ALA). ALA is topically applied to the skin that is to be treated.

Depending on the condition and severity, application time can vary from 30 minutes to several hours. A light source is then used to activate the ALA. This procedure, called topical ALA-PDT, allows specific areas of the skin to be treated while causing little or no damage to the surrounding skin and requiring minimal downtime for the patient.

The most common use for photodynamic therapy in dermatology is the treatment of superficial non-melanoma skin cancer, in particular actinic keratoses. Photodynamic therapy appears to be the most efficient for the treatment of widespread actinic keratoses because the aminolerulinic acid concentrates in the abnormal cells as well as in the oil glands and hair follicles. The light source then damages or destroys the tissues that have absorbed the aminolerulinic acid. In some cases, actinic keratoses can be treated by a single application of ALA-PDT.

As photodynamic therapy research advanced, cosmetic improvements in patients with long-term sun damage was discovered. When topical photodynamic therapy was used to treat large areas of sun-damaged skin, it became apparent that in addition to treating early cancerous growth, the treatment also produced cosmetic benefits. ALA-PDT helped decrease redness, reduce sun spots and freckles and it improved the overall appearance of skin including fine lines and rough skin.

“Sun damage is one of the most common conditions treated by dermatologists,” said Dr. Kauvar. “Photodynamic therapy allows dermatologists to directly treat sun-damaged areas and improve cosmetic the skin’s appearance without damaging surrounding skin.” 

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