Evaluation of the Primary Response of Basal Cell Carcinoma to Aminolevulinic Acid Photodynamic Therapy

Background: basal cell carcinoma (bcc) is the most common type of skin cancer in human beings. photodynamic therapy (pdt) is a novel therapeutic method which may be regarded as a non-invasive useful alternative for traditional treatments of bcc. this study was designed with the aim of evaluating the primary response of bcc to pdt. methods: this clinical trial was performed on 28 bcc lesions. patients were treated with ala-pdt monthly for 1-6 sessions and evaluated for clinical response, cosmetic results and probable side effects. results: twenty three out of 28 lesions showed response to pdt (9 showed complete response and 14 showed partial response). the cosmetic result was excellent or good in 77.5% of the cases. in 92.8% of the cases, no or mild side effects were observed. patients with a positive history of radiotherapy responded less (p<0.05). no significant relationship was found between patients' age, sex, localization, diameter or type of bcc with clinical response. conclusion: pdt might be a good therapeutic option in the treatment of bcc, especially the superficial type, with high efficacy and few side effects