PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY FOR BONE METASTASES
An avenue for earlier identification and treatment

Shane Burch, MD, MSc, FRCSC, Stuart Bisland, PhD
and Albert J.M. Yee, MD, MSc, FRCSC

The treatment of bony metastases is a multidisciplinary endeavor. In settings such as The Bone Metastases Clinic at Toronto Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, integration of the efforts of palliative care specialists, radiation oncologists and orthopedic surgeons has furnished a patient-focused environment to guide decisions about applying currently available therapies to treat symptomatic bone metastases.1,2

 

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CT showing spinal metastasis
 
Top-line summary
With improvements in adjuvant therapies and decline in age-standardized cancer mortality, bony metastases are increasingly prevalent in the cancer population. A variety of strategies are being developed to assist in palliative care of patients with symptomatic cancer spread to bone. Researchers at the Ontario Cancer Institute at Princess Margaret Hospital and the Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre at Toronto Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre are conducting transdisciplinary research into novel applications of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) strategies to treat patients with bony metastases. One such strategy involves the use of photodynamic therapy to treat structural bone lesions in the vertebral column using MIS approaches adapted from surgical techniques used in vertebroplasty. Here, Oncology Exchange reviews the background of photodynamic therapy, focusing on its use in musculoskeletal applications in bone, and summarizes progress in translating preclinical work towards the goal of improving patient palliation with respect to pain, functional status and quality of life.
 
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