Photodynamic therapy using meta-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin (Foscan®) for the treatment of vulval intraepithelial neoplasia

Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has unique properties which make it suitable for the local treatment of superficial epithelial disorders; it has been suggested as a useful treatment for carcinoma in situ of the vulva. Objectives To evaluate the effect of the systemic photosensitizing agent meta-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin (mTHPC or temoporfin; Foscan(R), Biolitec, Edinburgh, U.K.) in vulval intraepithelial neoplasia type III (VIN III). Methods PDT using mTHPC was performed in six patients with VIN III. A dose of 0.1 mg kg(-1) body weight mTHPC was injected intravenously and the area of VIN irradiated 96 h later with 652-nm light from a diode laser. Patients were reviewed 1 week, 6 months and 2 years following treatment. Results Patients experienced only minimal pain from the initial treatment but two patients subsequently developed severe pain at the treated site for up to 2 weeks following PDT. All patients developed oedema and slough formation at the treated site and one patient developed cellulitis. At 6 months two patients had developed small recurrences of VIN at the original site and one patient had an area of VIN at a new site. These were treated either with further PDT or with a small excision. At 2 years there was no recurrence of VIN at the original site in all patients reviewed. Conclusions This small case series demonstrates that mTHPC-PDT is a useful initial treatment for VIN III. It is relatively selective, shows good cosmesis and conserves form and function. This is a major advantage over surgery. Repeat treatments are also possible, which is important in a condition such as VIN, which tends to be multifocal. Systemic mTHPC-PDT appears to have an advantage over topical 5-aminolaevulinic acid-PDT as the photosensitizer is distributed widely in areas of disease and consequently identifies foci which may not be apparent clinically but become evident when illuminated.