New light therapy treatment destroys breast cancer cells

The photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses light to destroy cancer cells, reducing the need for invasive surgery, and it could be an alternative to radiotherapy for some patients.

World-renowned breast cancer expert Mo Keshtgar will be the first to use the therapy to treat breast cancer, which is now the most common cancer in the UK.

Patients being treated with PDT are given a drug which makes the cancerous area sensitive to light.

The drug is activated when a low power red laser is targeted at the area, starving the cells of oxygen and causing them to die.

Trials will now take place at London’s Royal Free Hospital by Mr Keshtgar and his team, which includes Professor Stephen Bown of the National Medical Laser Centre at University College London and Professor Tayyeba Hasan of Harvard Medical School, Boston, US.

Mr Keshtgar said: ‘The key appeal of photodynamic therapy is that it attacks and destroys cancer cells while retaining the visibility of the surrounding normal cells.

‘Our treatment will keep the structure of the connective tissue intact meaning the breast does not become deformed or lose shape.’

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