According to the latest findings of a US study, a newly designed LED-powered device can serve the purpose of treating skin cancer [abnormal cells that divide without control, which can invade nearby tissues or spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. ] in men and women.
A team of researchers led by Dr. Rolf Saager, working in the laboratory of Anthony Durkin at the Beckman Laser Institute at University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) insist that LEDs can enhance the photo-dynamic therapy (PDT), a procedure commonly used for curing cancer [abnormal cells that divide without control, which can invade nearby tissues or spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. ] .
It may be noted that PDT is a process in which photo
-sensitizing chemicals that absorb light are possibly infused into a tumor and then the tumor is exposed to the light.
The oxygen radicals that are emitted by the light energy help the chemicals in destroying the cancer cells, the researchers asserted.
Reportedly, PDT has already got the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for treating esophageal and lung cancer.
The present team of scientists discovered a new device that is equipped with an array of five different LED lights.
About the device, Dr. Saager said, “Through this imaging modality, it is now possible to assess how the therapeutic light will travel throughout the affected tissue, quantify the drug present within the lesion and monitor its efficacy during treatment.”
Details of the study
For the present study, the researchers explored the spatial frequency domain imaging, which when used with PDT, was found to work wonders in treating skin cancers.
The researchers assumed that the concentration pattern changes on the basis of the tissue structure and pigments in the skin. The precise models of light dissemination could probably produce images that reveal biochemistry of the cancer tissues.
They imaged a small population of skin cancer patients before they underwent treatment and these were then grouped in two. The whole process took around 5-10 seconds and images with a resolution of 30 microns were developed.
Spatially resolved maps of the optical properties of the lesions, tissue oxygenation and quantitative distribution of the photo-sensitizing drug were seen on the images.
According to the researchers, “The imaging technique may put forth an improved map for targeting and optimizing photo-dynamic therapy for basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer.”
More research needed
The LED device, though promising, comes with a key hurdle of lacking a thorough imaging procedure to target and assess the efficiency of PDT.
“Additional research will be triggered for allowing the therapeutic aspects of the instrument and to examine the tissue dynamics during PDT treatment regimens,” said the UC Irvine scientists.
source: themedguru
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