Cancer stem cell populations are resistant to 5-aminolevulinic acid-photodynamic therapy (5-ALA-PDT).

ABSTRACT: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive treatment approved for many types of cancers. PDT involves the administration of photoactive substances called photosensitizers (PS) that selectively accumulate in cancer cells and are subsequently excited/activated by irradiation with light at wavelengths of optimal absorbance. Activated PS leads to the generation of singlet oxygen and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), promoting cancer cell death. 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a naturally occurring PS precursor, which is metabolically converted to the PS, protoporphyrin IX (PPIX). Although 5-ALA-PDT is effective at killing cancer cells, in prior studies conducted by our group we normally observed in in vitro experiments that approximately 5-10% of cells survive 5-ALA-PDT, which serv

SUBMITTER: Rice CPJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11799205 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature