Current status and prospect of photodynamic therapy in laryngeal diseases / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Laryngeal diseases are closely related to the swallowing and speech function of the patients.Protecting and restoring laryngeal function, while curing lesions, is vital to patients′ quality of life.Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive method which is widely used in the treatment of tumor, precancerous lesions, and inflammatory diseases.In recent years, it has been shown to have a protective effect on normal structures. This article reviews the clinical outcomes of laryngeal diseases treated with PDT since 1990 in order to evaluate its efficacy and significance. The complete remission rate of early-stage laryngeal tumors and precancerous lesions after PDT is 77.6%(249/321), and a promising effect on recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis has been observed thus far. The prolonged adverse effects of the first-generation photosensitizers have limited the application of PDT. With the improvement of photosensitizers and treatment strategies, PDT promises to be a safe, effective, and minimally invasive treatment method for laryngeal diseases.