Wireless photodynamic therapy offers new option for colorectal cancer treatment

A low-cost, minimally invasive wireless device provides precise, safe cancer treatment

After skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research

The researchers will use photodynamic therapy (PDT) during surgery, using a photosensitizer (a drug activated by light) to kill cancer cells

"This biocompatible, miniaturized implantable LED device will enable the adaptation of light dose and PDT to individual tumor responses," said Sung II Park

In the long term, this work will yield a platform that has the potential to provide clinical quality health monitoring capabilities for continued use outside of traditional hospital or laboratory facilities; it will also allow treatment options to prevent the development of further malignancies, Thereby significantly improving the quality of life of cancer patients

More details about the device were published in the April issue of the journal Nature Communications

Although photodynamic therapy has been shown to be effective in many solid tumors, its clinical application is limited by an incomplete understanding of the different responses of cancer and normal tissues, and by the lack of methods to monitor tumor response and adjust light dose accordingly

To address this gap, Professor Sung II Park and his team proposed a two-step procedure

"This intraluminal device will provide a minimally invasive, biocompatible platform for light-detecting residual cancer and delivering it to tumor cells anywhere in the body, meaning it could potentially target breast, kidney, Lung, pancreas, prostate, ovarian and rare cancers

Woo Seok Kim, M.