Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) at the Whittington
The Dermatology department at The Whittington Hospital has been growing for the last seven years and since her appointment three years ago Dr Natasha Kapur, Consultant Dermatologist has set up a weekly doctor-led PDT service.
Photodynamic Therapy is an alternative to surgery, cryotherapy (freezing), chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The therapy begins by preparing the skin and then applying a special photosensitizing cream to the affected cancerous or pre cancerous area. The patients can then go home or wait in the hospital and three hours later a special red light source is shone on the pre-treated area for approximately ten minutes. The treatment will only work if both procedures are combined on the skin. Re-application of the cream and light procedure may be necessary depending on the type of lesion being treated. There are no long term side effects and no maximum dose and leaves no scarring, and therefore is an effective and safe method of treating skin cancer.
There is A1 evidence for this therapy to be used for Bowen’s disease and superficial Basal Cell carcinomas and therefore is the treatment of choice.
Dr Kapur won the Geoffrey Dowling Fellowship from the British Association of Dermatologists and learnt and performed research in this area in The University Hospital in Bern, Switzerland. She has also successfully completed clinical trials in this field having been chosen as “The London site” for a recent multi-centre international trial.
For more information on Photodynamic Therapy and Department of Dematology, please visit www.whittington.nhs.uk/dermatology
Last updated02 Jul 2009