Photodynamic Detection of Peritoneal Metastases Using 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (ALA)

Cancers (Basel). 2017 Mar 1;9(3):23. doi: 10.3390/cancers9030023.

Abstract

In the past, peritoneal metastasis (PM) was considered as a terminal stage of cancer. From the early 1990s, however, a new comprehensive treatment consisting of cytoreductive surgery and perioperative chemotherapy has been established to improve long-term survival for selected patients with PM. Among prognostic indicators after the treatment, completeness of cytoreduction is the most independent predictors of survival. However, peritoneal recurrence is a main cause of recurrence, even after complete cytoreduction. As a cause of peritoneal recurrence, small PM may be overlooked at the time of cytoreductive surgery (CRS), therefore, development of a new method to detect small PM is desired. Recently, photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) was developed for detection of PM. The objectives of this review were to evaluate whether PDD using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) could improve detection of small PM.

Keywords: ABCG2; PEPT1; aminolevulinic acid; ferrochelatase; peritoneal surface malignancies; photodynamic diagnosis (PDD).

Publication types

  • Review