Photodynamic Therapy/Assisted Photorejuvenation

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) shows great efficacy and high tolerability for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer (actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinoma, Bowen’s disease) especially in patients with large and multiple lesions, in poor-healing sites and patients immunosuppressed or with co-morbidities. Besides, more recently, PDT has been used, widely and with great success, for many off-label diseases and in cosmetic dermatology, especially on photorejuvenation, therefore further and larger prospective studies with long-term follow-up are required to verify its efficacy and safety in treating these condition. The treatment of ageing skin remains a very hot topic, and many systems have been reported as having varying degrees of success. Nowadays our experience and literature data show how topical PDT can be considered a new non-invasive device for the treatment o photoaging skin with no/minimal side effects and able to bridge the world of medical and cosmetic dermatologic surgery.