Intratumor injection as a more effective means of porphyrin administration for photodynamic therapy.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with hematoporphyrin derivative (HpD) as the photosensitizer is a promising new cancer treatment. The major drawback of this procedure is the resulting skin photosensitivity. Patients must remain in subdued light for four to six weeks to avoid cutaneous phototoxicity. In this study, we examine the possibility of reducing the skin photosensitization while maintaining the tumor phototoxic effect by administering the drug directly into the tumor. A subcutaneously implanted mouse bladder tumor (MBT-2) was used. HpD was administered either intraperitoneally (I.P.; 20 mg./kg. b.w.) or by intratumor injection (I.T.; 0.4 mg./cc tumor). The concentrations of HpD in tumor and various tissues (skin, muscle, liver, spleen, kidney, bladder and whole blood) were analyzed at various times after the injection, by 3H-HpD method and by a fluorometric method. Results indicated that at three to 96 hours after the administration, porphyrin levels in tumor were about three to 15 times higher by I.T. than by I.P. injection, while the concentrations in skin and other tissues were 1.3 to 10 times lower. Consequently, at 24 hours after injection ratios between tumor to skin porphyrin were 14 to 92 times higher for I.T. than I.P. injection. Higher porphyrin levels in tumor and lower in normal tissues would indicate lower skin photosensitivity, systemic cytotoxicity and possible greater tumor photosensitivity. This method of porphyrin administration may be useful for the PDT of certain single lesions that are accessible for direct injection.