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Review
. 2022 May 10;9(5):695.
doi: 10.3390/children9050695.

Photodynamic Therapy for Treatment of Disease in Children-A Review of the Literature

Anna Mazur  1 , Katarzyna Koziorowska  2 , Klaudia Dynarowicz  3 , David Aebisher  4 , Dorota Bartusik-Aebisher  5
Affiliations
Review

Photodynamic Therapy for Treatment of Disease in Children-A Review of the Literature

Anna Mazur et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy is a mode of treatment whereby local irradiation of an administered photosensitizer with light of a specific wavelength generates cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. Despite the upward trend in the popularity of this method in adults, it is not yet commonly used in the treatment of children. Due to certain limitations, underdeveloped treatment regimens and potential side effects, the use of photodynamic therapy in the pediatric population is still in the initial phases of evaluation in clinical trials.

Method: This study is a review of articles in English from the databases PubMed and Web of Science retrieved by applying the search term "photodynamic therapy in children" from 2000-2020.

Results: Based on the literature review, we analyze selected pediatric clinical cases in which photodynamic therapy was used for treatment in children. Examples of photodynamic therapy for treatment of dermatological diseases, diseases of the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, halitosis, eye diseases and brain tumors are described. The paper describes the effectiveness of anti-cancer photodynamic therapy, including its use in antibacterial therapy.

Conclusions: The results of the analysis suggest the potential of photodynamic therapy for the treatment of various diseases in children.

Keywords: photodynamic therapy; therapy in children; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Action of PDT in skin tissue. (B) The utilization of a photosensitizer (PS) in skin tissue. Clinically approved photosensitizers are used in PDT along with ground-state oxygen (3O2) and visible light to treat tumors by the local production of cytotoxic singlet oxygen (1O2). PDT is based on the local application of a photosensitizer that accumulates in pathological tissues. The quality of the therapy depends on the efficiency of the photosensitizer and the place of its deposition in the tissue. The photosensitizer absorbs light of the appropriate wavelength and thus acquires the ability to transfer energy to oxygen molecules in their vicinity, enabling the formation of singlet oxygen that is capable of selectively destroying cancer cells. Highly toxic products are generated during the photodynamic action. The reactive oxygen species formed in this way include singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. However, for the production of toxic products, it is necessary to use an appropriate photosensitizer.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PDT mechanism in dentistry.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Diagram illustrating the procedure for analyzing the source articles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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