An assessment of daylight PDT in the treatment of actinic keratoses
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An assessment of daylight PDT in the treatment of actinic keratoses
IRAS ID
163993
Contact name
Stephen Alexander Holme
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research and Development Department
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
Actinic keratoses (AK) are common areas of sun-damaged skin found predominantly on sun-exposed parts of the body. The affected skin feels rough and dry. As there is a small risk of some AK progressing to a form of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, they are usually treated, using a variety of approaches including sunscreen, freezing with liquid nitrogen, surgical removal, creams, laser and photodynamic therapy (PDT).
In PDT, usually a red light source is used to activate a light-sensitive photosensitiser chemical cream (aminolaevulinic acid - ALA) which has been applied to the affected area of skin. The light activates the photosensitizer, causing preferential damage to sun-damaged skin cells. The main limitations of PDT are the pain experienced by subjects during the illumination period, and the time required. Three trials from Denmark suggest that PDT using daylight is as effective as conventional red-light PDT, but significantly less uncomfortable. We aim to follow the Danish studies’ methodology to assess if their findings are reproducible particularly given the Scottish climate.
Subjects will attend for photosensitizer cream application as standard, but instead of artificial light exposure, they will be asked to expose the treated area to daylight within 30 minutes for a 2 hour period. They will be reviewed as currently standard to assess the response.REC name
South East Scotland REC 01
REC reference
14/SS/1093
Date of REC Opinion
19 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion