Porfimer sodium-mediated photodynamic therapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Background Photodynamic therapy is a less invasive therapeutic procedure for carcinomas. The goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of Photofrin (porfimer sodium)-mediated photodynamic therapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Methods Forty-two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients treated with Photofrin-mediated photodynamic therapy were followed by intraoperative light activation at 630 nm via a fiber optic microlens, 48 hours after injection. We evaluated the impact of age, sex, tumor stage, primary site, light dose, and cancer history on overall survival using a Cox proportional hazards model. Information on the survival status of patients was obtained after a mean follow-up period of 51 months (range, 6–180 months). Results The 5-year overall survival for all patients was 57.8% (95% confidence interval of the survival rate: 39.8%-72.1%). The complete response rate was 69.0%, and the efficacy (complete response + partial response) was 97.6%. Earlier tumor stage was associated with increased survival (p = 0.012). Diseases of the respiratory tract also showed significant association with survival as compared to those of the alimentary tract (p = 0.01). Conclusions Photofrin-mediated photodynamic therapy is useful for treating head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, and provides an improved quality of life in patients with recurrent or residual disease.