Role of Photodynamic Therapy in the Management of Gastrointestinal Cancer

Surgery for cancer of the gastrointestinal tract is associated with high morbidity and mortality, especially in older patients. A significant proportion of patients cannot be cured and would be referred for palliative therapy. Others may have early cancer but are deemed unfit for surgery. Chemotherapy and external radiotherapy are suitable for only a proportion of patients. Therefore, photodynamic therapy may have a role in the management of these patients. It was the possibility of achieving selective tumour necrosis with sparing of normal tissue that made this treatment extremely appealing compared to other conventional tumour therapy.