Photodynamic Therapy Applications in Musculoskeletal Oncology
Summary
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) harnesses light‐activated compounds to produce cytotoxic species selectively within malignant tissues. In musculoskeletal oncology, PDT has emerged as an adjunct or alternative to conventional surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy for the treatment of primary bone and soft‐tissue sarcomas as well as metastatic lesions. Photosensitisers preferentially accumulate in tumour cells or their acidic microenvironment and, upon irradiation with specific wavelengths, generate reactive oxygen species that induce cell death, vascular shutdown and immune activation. Recent advances have focused on optimising photosensitiser delivery, enhancing tumour selectivity and integrating PDT with surgical procedures to improve local control and preserve limb function. Innovations such as radiodynamic therapy further extend the activating mechanism to ionising radiation, enabling deeper tissue penetration and combined cytotoxic effects. Collectively, these developments offer the prospect of reduced systemic toxicity, improved functional outcomes and synergistic effects with existing treatment modalities in musculoskeletal malignancies.
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Photodynamic Therapy Applications in Musculoskeletal Oncology publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in photodynamic therapy applications in musculoskeletal oncology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Photodynamic therapy (PDT): Treatment that uses light‐activated compounds to generate reactive oxygen species in targeted tissues.
Photosensitiser: A molecule that preferentially accumulates in tumour cells and, upon light or radiation activation, produces cytotoxic species.
Acridine orange (AO): A cationic dye that concentrates in acidic cellular compartments and serves as a photosensitiser in PDT and radiodynamic therapy.
Radiodynamic therapy (RDT): A variation of PDT in which ionising radiation activates the photosensitiser, allowing deeper tissue treatment.
Lysosomal‐mediated cell death: A pathway in which disruption of lysosomal membranes releases hydrolases that trigger tumour cell destruction.
References
- Intraoperative Photodynamic Surgery (iPDS) with Acridine Orange for Musculoskeletal Sarcomas. Cureus (2014).
- Photodynamic Surgery for Feline Injection‐Site Sarcoma. BioMed Research International (2019).
- Radiodynamic Therapy with Acridine Orange Is an Effective Treatment for Bone Metastases. Biomedicines (2022).
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