Issue 9, 2008
From the journal:

Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences

Immunotherapy: a way to improve the therapeutic outcome of photodynamic therapy?

Mateusz Kwitniewski,*ab   Asta Juzeniene,b   Renata Glosnickac  and  Johan Moanbd  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Molecular Microbiology and Serology, National Salmonella Centre, Medical University of Gdansk, ul. Do Studzienki 38, Gdansk, Poland
E-mail: kwitniewski@amg.gda.pl
Tel: +48 58349-19-14

b Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Montebello, Oslo, Norway

c R & D Immunolab Company Ltd, ul. Al. Zwycięstwa 96/98, Gdynia, Poland

d Institute of Physics, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment for cancer and non-cancerous lesions involving light and a sensitizing drug, a so-called photosensitizer. Photosensitizers for PDT usually accumulate in tumour tissues with some selectivity. Thus, malignant and abnormal cells can be destroyed by PDT which acts by producing singlet oxygen and possible other reactive oxygen species. However, the efficiency of PDT is often limited by shallow light penetration into tissue. In some cases one treatment modality cannot cure a patient because of treatment limitations and/or side effects. In recent years, many preclinical studies have indicated that the therapeutic outcome of PDT can be improved, doses and side effects lowered by combination with immunotherapy. Most experiments have been done with animals and cell lines. This review summarizes the current knowledge about different immunotherapeutic approaches which can be used to improve effectiveness and extend the applications of PDT in clinics.

Graphical abstract: Immunotherapy: a way to improve the therapeutic outcome of photodynamic therapy?

About
Cited by
Related
Download options Please wait...

Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B806710D
Article type
Perspective
Submitted
21 Apr 2008
Accepted
02 Jul 2008
First published
21 Jul 2008

Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2008,7, 1011-1017

Permissions

Request permissions

Immunotherapy: a way to improve the therapeutic outcome of photodynamic therapy?

M. Kwitniewski, A. Juzeniene, R. Glosnicka and J. Moan, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2008, 7, 1011 DOI: 10.1039/B806710D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Spotlight

Advertisements