Surgery combined with topical photodynamic therapy for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the lip

Abstract Due to the unique location of the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lip, using a single method such as extended resection or radiotherapy probably causes morphological and functional defects. So we used surgery combined with topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) to treat SCC of the lip. Under local anesthesia with 5% lidocaine, the hyperplastic and ulcerative SCC of the lip were curetted and assisted by topical PDTs after surgery. The 20% 5-aminolevulinic acid cream was used as a photosensitizer and applied evenly to the surface of the tumor lesion for 4 h. Then the lesion site was irradiated with a 635-nm laser at 120 J/cm 2 . A total of five PDTs were performed postoperatively at an interval of 2 weeks. Photos were taken before and after every PDT to compare the skin lesions, treatment effects, and side effects. A long-term follow-up was undertaken to observe tumor recurrence. After surgery combined with five topical PDTs, the SCC of the lip disappeared without the compromised morphology of the lip, significant side effects, or tumor recurrence in one-year follow-up. Surgery combined with topical PDT can reduce the excision size of tumors and play a positive role in the treatment of tumors of special locations.