BACKGROUND: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common type of skin cancer, for which non- or mini-invasive treatment is of critical importance. 5-aminolevulinic acids based photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) is a mini-invasive approach that causes focal tumor cell injury, apoptosis, and necrosis through light sensitivity. The efficacy of combining ALA-PDT and surgery in treating SCC, however, has not been demonstrated.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 60 SCC patients were randomly assigned into attrition plus ALA-PDT group (experimental group) and single ALA-PDT treatment group (control group). Clinical efficacy, recurrence rate, and adverse effects were analyzed in conjunction with H&E staining and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining for p53 expression.

RESULTS: The overall effective rate of the experimental group was 73.3%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (46.7%). The experimental group also had a lower recurrence rate (16.6% versus 30.0%, p<0.05). Similar rates of adverse effects existed between the two groups. After treatment, abnormal cells disappeared, while the p53 positive rate after treatment was elevated in the two groups (p<0.05 comparison of before and after treatment). The experimental group had a higher p53 positive rate compared to the control group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Combined therapy of attrition with ALA-PDT significantly elevated the effective treatment rate and can decrease the recurrence rate with reliable safety in treating SCC, thus ALA-PDT can be used as an optimal plan for SCC treatment.

Keywords: Carcinoma, Squamous Cell, Recurrence