Korean J Dermatol.  2009 Aug;47(8):884-890.

The Therapeutic Effect of Photodynamic Therapy with Aminolevulinic Acid Topical Solution and Blue Light for Actinic Keratosis

• Seo JK
• Kang JH
• Choi JH
• Lee D
• Sung HS
• Hwang SW

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Actinic keratoses (AKs) are precancerous lesions that are treated with local liquid nitrogen cryotherapy, topical fluorouracil or topical chemotherapeutic agents. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with various kinds of light sources has recently been tried for treating actinic keratoses. There have been no studies in the Korean literature about the effectiveness of aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-PDT combined with blue light for treating actinic keratoses.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the safety and efficacy of PDT (using topical 20% ALA solution and blue light) for the treatment of actinic keratoses.
METHODS
Twenty five AKs lesions of 17 patients were enrolled in the study. They were prepared with the application of topical 20% ALA solution for 2 hours and this was followed by exposure to 417+/-5 nm blue light at 10 J/cm2. The lesions were assessed at 48 hours and 2 and 4 weeks following PDT. Those target lesions remaining at week 4 were re-treated. Skin biopsies were done at 8 weeks to evaluate the response to ALA-PDT.
RESULTS
Complete remissions were achieved for 64.0% of the AKs lesions after 2 treatment sessions. Only two patients suffered from a stinging sensation when exposed to the light therapy.
CONCLUSION
Topical ALA-PDT with using a blue light source could be an effective treatment modality for actinic keratoses

Keyword

Actinic keratosis; Blue-light; Photodynamic therapy

MeSH Terms

Actins
Aminolevulinic Acid
Biopsy
Bites and Stings
Cryotherapy
Fluorouracil
Humans
Keratosis, Actinic
Light
Nitrogen
Photochemotherapy
Phototherapy
Sensation
Skin
Triazenes
Actins
Aminolevulinic Acid
Fluorouracil
Nitrogen
Triazenes