Photodynamic Therapy for the Treatment of Glioblastoma

• Published in: Frontiers in surgery Vol. 6; p. 81
• Main Authors: Cramer, Samuel W., Chen, Clark C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 21.01.2020
• Subjects: brain tumor; glioblastoma multiforme (GBM); neurosurgery; photodynamic therapy (PDT); Surgery; tumor-targeting; glioblastoma multiforme (GBM); brain tumor; photodynamic therapy (PDT); neurosurgery; tumor-targeting
• ISSN: 2296-875X; 2296-875X
• DOI: 10.3389/fsurg.2019.00081

Glioblastoma is the most common form of adult brain cancer and remains one of the deadliest of human cancers. The current standard-of-care involves maximal tumor resection followed by treatment with concurrent radiation therapy and the chemotherapy temozolomide. Recurrence after this therapy is nearly universal within 2 years of diagnosis. Notably, >80% of recurrence is found in the region adjacent to the resection cavity. The need for improved local control in this region, thus remains unmet. The FDA approval of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) for fluorescence guided glioblastoma resection renewed interests in leveraging this agent as a means to administer photodynamic therapy (PDT). Here we review the general principles of PDT as well as the available literature on PDT as a glioblastoma therapeutic platform.