Targeting Glycosylation Aberrations to Improve the Efficiency of Cancer Phototherapy.

The use of photodynamic therapy in cancer still remains limited, partly because of the lack of photosensitizer (PS) specificity for the cancerous tissues. Various molecular tools are available to increase PS efficiency by targeting the cancer cell molecular alterations. Most strategies use the protein-protein interactions, e.g. monoclonal antibodies directed toward tumor antigens, such as HER2 or EGFR. An alternative could be the targeting of the tumor glycosylation aberrations, e.g. T/Tn antigens that are truncated O-glycans over-expressed in numerous tumors. Thus, to achieve an effective targeting, PS can be conjugated to molecules that specifically recognize the Oglycosylation aberrations at the cancer cell surface.