Method of detection of malignant and non-malignant lesions by photochemotherapy of protoporphyrin IX percursors
AssigneeQueen's University at Kingston
InventorsJames C. Kennedy, Roy H. Pottier, Robert L. Reid
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Abstract
A method of detecting and treating malignant and nonmalignant tissue abnormalities and lesions of the skin, conjunctives, respiratory, digestive and vaginal mucosa; endometrium and urothelium in which 5-aminolevulinic acid is administered to the patient in an amount sufficient to induce synthesis of protoporphyrin IX in the lesions, followed by exposure of the treated lesion to a photoactivating light in the range 350-640 nm.
Claims2
A method for detecting malignant and non-malignant tissue abnormalities and lesions of the skin, mucosa, endometrium and urothelium in a patient, comprising administering to said patient an effective amount of a precursor of protoporphyrin IX in the biosynthetic pathway for heme so as to induce synthesis of protoporphyrin IX preferentially in said abnormalities and lesions, exposing said patient to light having a wavelength within the absorbance spectrum of said protoporphyrin IX to thereby induce fluorescence in said abnormalities or lesions, and detecting said fluorescence.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.