Poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) has recently been characterized as a key regulator of cell death-survival transcriptional programs associated with stress and inflammation. Possible participation of this enzyme in the response of tumors to photodynamic therapy (PDT) was investigated in this study. Immunohistochemical analysis of mouse FsaR tumors treated by PDT based on photosensitizers Photofrin or 5,10,15,20-tetra-(m-hydroxyphenyl)chlorine (mTHPC) revealed a strong positive staining for PARP product poly(ADP-ribose) at 30 min and 1 h after PDT, respectively, and even more intense positivity at 2 h after PDT with both photosensitizers. Flow cytometry-based examination showed the induction of poly-ADP-ribosylation in FsaR tumors at 30 min after PDT, with a trend for a further increase in the intensity by 2 h after PDT in both cancer cells and tumor-associated leukocytes. In FsaR cells treated in vitro by mTHPC-based PDT, flow cytometric analysis indicated that the activation of PARP concentrated in cells undergoing apoptosis and reached a maximum by 30 min after PDT. The administration of PARP inhibitors, 3-aminobenzamide or 1,5-isoquinolinediol, to FsaR tumor-bearing mice before PDT light treatment increased the resistance of these tumors to PDT. PARP appears to control the balance between apoptotic and necrotic cell death in PDT-treated tumors and regulate the progression of PDT-induced inflammatory or innate immune response.