Non-surgical treatment of skin cancer: photodynamic therapy
Early detection of skin cancer offers the opportunity to treat it in its earliest stages, even when it has no power of penetration beyond the skin. In these cases, the diagnosis is facilitated by the use of digital epiluminescence and it makes possible to treat the lesions with a non-surgical approach (without surgery). The most superficial basal and squamous cell carcinomas can be completely eliminated by a non-surgical procedure called photodynamic therapy.
This involves the application of a special cream to the lesions to be treated which penetrates only in malignant and pre-malignant cells spontaneously. These cells, when illuminated with light emitted from the lamp of photodynamic therapy, can be completely eliminated with respect to healthy skin cells. Photodynamic therapy is a medical tool that allows to destroy malignant tumor cells from a surface without damaging the surrounding skin and with no need for the patient to undergo a stressful surgical procedure that can create a scar in the treated area. Photodynamic therapy is a technique performed on an outpatient basis (no income) on the premises of the dermatology clinic: the procedure involves the application of a topical medicine, which is left on for 3 hours, and then illuminate the lesion with a medical lamp for a few minutes. Usually two sessions are necessary to definitively cure cutaneous tumors.
In DermAndTek we use the Aktilite (Galderma) device, a pioneer in the world of photodynamic therapy and with robust studies supporting its therapeutic success and high safety profile.