Table 3.
List of photosensitizers approved or in clinical trials for Photodynamic Therapy and diagnosis in oncology.
| Class | Examples | λmax | Clinical Approval |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Tetrapyrrole based | |||
| (i) First generation | |||
Porphyrin
|
(a) Porfimer sodium (photofrin)
|
630 nm | Approved-Bladder cancer, Endobronchial cancer, Esophageal cancer, Lung cancer, Barrett's esophagus, cervical cancer In clinical trial- Brain cancer diagnosis |
| (ii) Second generation | |||
| Porphyrin precursor | (a) 5-Aminolevulinic acid (Levulan)
|
635 nm | Approved- Non-melanoma skin cancers, Basal cell carcinoma, Squamous cell carcinoma In clinical trial- Brain cancer diagnosis and guided resection |
(b) Hexaminolevulinate hydrochloride (Hexvix®)
|
635 nm | Bladder cancer diagnosis | |
Chlorin
|
(a) 5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(3-hydroxyphenyl) chlorin/ Temoporfin (Foscan)
|
652 nm | Approved- Head and neck, Prostate and Pancreatic cancers |
(b) Mono-L-aspartyl chlorin e6 / Talaporfin (Laserphyrin)
|
664 nm | Approved- Lung cancer, Malignant gliomas | |
Bacteriopheophorbide
|
(a) Palladium-Bacteriopheophorbide (WST09)/ Padoporfin (Tookad)
|
763 nm | Approved- Prostate cancer |
(b) Bacteriopheophorbide (WST11)/ padeliporfin (Stakel)
|
~ 750 nm | In clinical trials- Prostate cancer | |
| Purpurin | Tin ethyl etiopurpurin/ Rostaporfin (Purlytin)
|
664 nm | In clinical trials- Basal cell cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, Prostate cancer, Breast adenocarcinoma |
Pheophorbide
|
2-(1-Hexyloxyethyl)-2-devinyl pyropheophorbide-a / PhotoChlor
|
665 nm | In clinical trials- Basal cell carcinoma, Esophagus, Skin, Mouth and Throat cancers, Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia |
Texaphyrin
|
Motexafin lutetium (Antrin/ Lutrin)
|
732 nm | In clinical trials- Prostate, Breast, Cervical, Brain, Skin and Superficial cancers |
Porphyrin related-Phthalocyanine (Pc)
|
(a) Aluminum phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate chloride (Photosens)
|
676 nm | In clinical trials- Stomach, Skin, Lip, Oral, and Breast cancers |
(b) Zinc pthalocyanine
|
676 nm | In clinical trials- Skin cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma |
|
(c) Silicon Phthalocyanine
|
675 nm | In clinical trials- Skin cancer | |
| B. Non-Porphyrin based | |||
Anthraquinone
|
Hypericin
|
600 nm | In clinical trials- Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma |
| Cyanine | Indocyanine green (IR125)
|
695-780 nm (Concentration dependent) |
In clinical trials- Imaging-guided detection and PDT |