This treatment is NO LONGER offerred at East Clinic Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. Weekly CancerDecisions.com Newsletter #57 10/16/02 PDT for Prostate Cancer A clinical trial published this month supports the use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of prostate cancer. Dr. Timothy R. Nathan and colleagues at University College Medical School, London, reported that a form of PDT benefits prostate cancer patients whose disease has recurred even after radiation treatment. "Photodynamic therapy," Nathan and his colleagues wrote in the Journal of Urology, "can destroy localized areas of cancer with safe healing and without the cumulative toxicity associated with ionizing radiation." Fourteen patients with rising prostate specific antigen (PSA) scores (a standard measure of prostate cancer progression), and with a proven local recurrence after radiation, were given PDT. The agent used in this study was Foscan® (also called m-THPC), which is an experimental chlorophyll-derived agent manufactured by Scotia Pharmaceuticals. Red light was then administered using fiber-optic cables inserted into the prostate gland via needles. PSA scores decreased in nine patients, to undetectable levels in two of them. Five patients had no viable tumor when a needle biopsy was taken after treatment. CT and MRI scans showed necrosis (tissue breakdown) involving up to 91 percent of the prostate after the treatment. However, four men developed stress incontinence (inability to hold one's urine), and of the seven men who had still been able to have intercourse after radiation, four suffered a long-term loss of sexual potency following PDT. The British authors described PDT as "a new option" that could be suitable for some prostate cancer patients whose tumors have recurred after radiation. With more precise ways of delivering light, it may be possible, they suggested, to destroy cancer with even fewer complications than with conventional methods. In conclusion, they wrote, "These results suggest that photodynamic therapy merits further investigation." Other reports have suggested that this kind of PDT may also be helpful in the treatment of patients with cancers of the pancreas, lung and breast. Relation to CLT This study utilized standard PDT, not the Cytoluminescent Therapy™ (CLT) approach used at East Clinic and described in earlier newsletters. However, there are instructive comparisons to be made. Both centers are using green photosensitizing agents derived from chlorophyll, as opposed to conventional red agents (derived from blood) such as the FDA-approved Photofrin™. While there are a number of green agents in development around the world, the two green agents in question are unique and distinct. A significant difference between the approach used by the University College physicians and that used at East Clinic is in the way the drugs are activated. The University College approach involves activation of the drug through the invasive method of inserting needles into the affected gland. The approach used at East Clinic is noninvasive. I believe that the decline in bladder control and loss of sexual potency reported in the British study resulted from the invasiveness of the activation procedure, and not from PDT per se. At East Clinic, Dr. Porter administers the light in a gentle way, without the need for invasive needles. The agent used is very sensitive and the procedure has a systemic effect, which may be immunological in nature. Furthermore, the treatment is accompanied by whole-body infrared therapy and various methods to boost the immune system and restore overall health. It is because of these important differences from standard PDT that East Clinic's treatment has been given a new name, Cytoluminescent Therapy.™ This differentiates it from other forms of PDT that are currently practiced at more academic medical centers. For further information, see my previous newsletters: http://www.cancerdecisions.com/101102.html http://www.cancerdecisions.com/100202.html See also the CLT website: http://www.cancerclt.com If you have any questions about CLT you can email the clinic at: photodyn@gofree.indigo.ie Source: Ralph Moss Br J Cancer, 11/02 www.dinshahhealth.org Sent to us in July, 2004 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.