Photodynamic Therapy in the Treatment of Bladder Cancer: Past Challenges and Current Innovations

Abstract

There are limited treatment options for patients with recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. In this report, we will talk about the history of photodynamic therapy; although it showed encouraging therapeutic results, it was largely abandoned due to toxicity or bystander effects on normal cells. Monoclonal antibody-conjugates represent an emerging therapeutic approach for malignancies that improves upon tumor specificity. The use of a monoclonal antibody-photosensitizer conjugate is a more selective method of delivering light therapy and has been termed "photoimmunotherapy", which we will discuss in the last part of this report.

Keywords: 5-Aminolevulinic acid; BCG-refractory NMIBC; Bladder cancer; Hematoporphyrin; Hexaminolevulinic acid; PDT; PIT; Photodynamic therapy; Photoimmunotherapy; Urothelial cancer.