Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses non-toxic photosensitizers and harmless visible light in combination with oxygen to produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species that kill malignant cells by apoptosis and/or necrosis, shut down the tumour microvasculature and stimulate the host immune system. In contrast to surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy that are mostly immunosuppressive, PDT causes acute inflammation, expression of heat-shock proteins, invasion and infiltration of the tumour by leukocytes, and might increase the presentation of tumour-derived antigens to T cells.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 535-545 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Nature Reviews Cancer |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:A.P.C. was supported by a US Department of Defense CDMRP Breast Cancer Research Grant. M.R.H. was supported by the US National Institutes of Health. We thank T. N. Demidova for help and advice.
