Topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a widely used non-invasive treatment for certain non-melanoma skin cancers, permitting treatment of large and multiple lesions with a high safety and efficacy profile as well as excellent cosmesis. This paper will allude to the increasing burden of non-melanoma skin cancer, as well as the licensed indications using MAL PDT for treating actinic keratosis, squamous cell in situ (Bowen’s disease), superficial and nodular basal cell carcinoma, and some of the emerging dermatological indications.
Non-melanoma skin cancer occurs most often on areas of skin that have been exposed to the sun. Whilst skin cancer in England is less common in people living in the most deprived areas,1 around 98,400 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer were registered in 2011 in the UK. Registration is incomplete, however, with an estimated 30-50% of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and…
