Therapeutic and Aesthetic Uses of Photodynamic Therapy Part three of a five-part series: Chemoprevention Utilizing ALA-PDT.

The use of aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy and methyl ester of aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy has become commonplace in dermatology for the treatment of actinic keratoses, among other clinical entities. An intriguing question that has arisen is whether we can utilize these medicines for a chemopreventive effect; that is, preventing or delaying the onset of actinic keratoses and perhaps nonmelanoma skin cancers. This manuscript reviews the current literature and anecdotal evidence that suggests that aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy and methyl ester of aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy may indeed be chemopreventive and thus useful in preventing and/or delaying these lesions.