TY - JOUR
T1 - Photodynamic therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
T2 - narrative review focusing on photosensitizers
AU - Ibarra, Ana Melissa Ccopa
AU - Cecatto, Rebeca Boltes
AU - Motta, Lara Jansiski
AU - dos Santos Franco, Adriana Lino
AU - de Fátima Teixeira da Silva, Daniela
AU - Nunes, Fabio Daumas
AU - Hamblin, Michael R.
AU - Rodrigues, Maria Fernanda Setúbal Destro
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2022/4
Y1 - 2022/4
N2 - This narrative review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of PDT in early or advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Scopus, MEDLINE/PubMed, and Embase were searched electronically following the PRISMA protocol. Quality assessment was performed according to JBI, NIH, and AMSTAR protocols. The main outcomes evaluated were treatment response, recurrence, survival, and adverse effects. A total of 49 articles met the search criteria: 43 case series, two cohort studies, two prospective before-after clinical trials, one systematic review, and one meta-analysis. Data from 2121 SCCHN patients were included. The response to PDT was variable according to the type of photosensitizer, tumor location, and tumor stage. In general, higher complete responses rated were observed in T1/T2 SCCHN, mainly with mTHPC-mediated PDT. With regard to T3/T4 or advanced SCCHN tumors, there is no compelling evidence suggesting the effectiveness of PDT. Any adverse effects reported were well tolerated by patients. The present review suggests that PDT is a promising treatment modality for early-stage SCCHN. Although there are limitations due to the low level of evidence of the included studies, we believe that the present review could help to design robust clinical trials to determine the efficacy of PDT in SCCHN.
AB - This narrative review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of PDT in early or advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Scopus, MEDLINE/PubMed, and Embase were searched electronically following the PRISMA protocol. Quality assessment was performed according to JBI, NIH, and AMSTAR protocols. The main outcomes evaluated were treatment response, recurrence, survival, and adverse effects. A total of 49 articles met the search criteria: 43 case series, two cohort studies, two prospective before-after clinical trials, one systematic review, and one meta-analysis. Data from 2121 SCCHN patients were included. The response to PDT was variable according to the type of photosensitizer, tumor location, and tumor stage. In general, higher complete responses rated were observed in T1/T2 SCCHN, mainly with mTHPC-mediated PDT. With regard to T3/T4 or advanced SCCHN tumors, there is no compelling evidence suggesting the effectiveness of PDT. Any adverse effects reported were well tolerated by patients. The present review suggests that PDT is a promising treatment modality for early-stage SCCHN. Although there are limitations due to the low level of evidence of the included studies, we believe that the present review could help to design robust clinical trials to determine the efficacy of PDT in SCCHN.
KW - Oral cancer
KW - Photodynamic therapy, Tumor response
KW - Photosensitizer
KW - Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120581070&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10103-021-03462-3
DO - 10.1007/s10103-021-03462-3
M3 - Review article
C2 - 34855034
AN - SCOPUS:85120581070
SN - 0268-8921
VL - 37
SP - 1441
EP - 1470
JO - Lasers in Medical Science
JF - Lasers in Medical Science
IS - 3
ER -
