Nursing care management of photodynamic therapy in digestive tract carcinomas at a single cancer center.

The primary goal of nursing care in cases of endoscopic photodynamic therapy (PDT) for digestive tract carcinoma is to prevent phototoxicity by the intravenous administration of photosensitizers. The adequate protocol and management of patients should be conducted under the instruction of expert physicians. Our experiences of administering porfimer sodium and talaporfin sodium during clinical PDT provide insight regarding the specific management protocol of each photosensitizer during an in-hospital stay. We herein report our nursing protocol based on 15 years of experience. Under adequate management, PDT can be safely performed.