Photodynamic therapy (PDT)- the use of light for clinical diagnostic and/or therapeutic applications for the treatment of peripheral lung cancer

• Grant number: 24/02633-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Pathology
• Principal Investigator: João Paulo Mardegan Issa
• Grantee: Marina Ribeiro Paulini
• Supervisor: Lothar Lilge
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto (FORP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Toronto (U of T), Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/08618-0 - Influence of acute and chronic stressors in spontaneously hypertensive rats on the morphofunctional characteristics of long bones, BP.DR

Abstract

Lung cancer corresponds to one of the diseases that represents the highest percentage of causes of mortality. Due to the relevance of the topic, much has been studied on the subject, mainly in relation to the therapies used for its treatment and their possible use in Brazil. An example of ongoing work using photonics in clinical optical therapeutics, are our efforts to increase the efficacy of Photodynamic therapy (PDT). One of the research directions is to enable treatment monitoring using fiber optical probes. In PDT as cancer treatment modality, light activated drugs produce extremely short-lived cytotoxic substances, and their local concentration is governed by three parameters, molecular oxygen, light radiance and drug concentration. By controlling the local light radiance online, the production of cytotoxic substances can be adjusted, based on the available oxygen and photosensitizer. This allows to further maximize the tumoricidal effect, while sparing normal healthy tissue. The project includes the development of interstitial sensors based on optical fiber technology and quantification of the biological in vivo response in different tissues. The long-term goals of this research are aimed at enabling a selective apoptotic or necrotic response in the tumor. The project's goal is to provide patients with a single-session therapy that clears one lung from diffuse microscopic diseases by a less invasive surgery, to offer lung cancer patients in Brazil an alternative therapy which could and should be applied with curative intent applicable also for later stage tumours.