Safety of PDT-Photofrin® Prior to Lung Surgery

Lung cancer accounts for almost one-third of cancer deaths. Cancer screening strategies have the potential to achieve a 20% reduction in death rates. Newly developed bronchoscopic technologies (such as navigational bronchoscopy) have been shown to enable physicians to safely reach lesions in peripheral regions of the lung and obtain diagnosis. This new technology may now potentially offer bronchoscopic therapeutic interventions, such as photodynamic therapy, to tumors that were previously unreachable due to their peripheral anatomic location. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses a combination of a photosensitizing drug (a drug that is activated by light), called porfimer sodium (Photofrin®), and a light from a laser that emits no heat. This technique works to allow the medical doctor to specifically target and destroy abnormal or cancer cells while limiting damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The activation of the drug is done by lightning the abnormal area using a fiber optic device (very fine fiber \[like a fishing line\] that permits light transmission) inserted into a flexible tube with a light, called bronchoscope for the lung. The light activates the porfimer sodium concentrated in the abnormal tissue, leading to its destruction. The purpose of this study is to assess the safety of using photodynamic therapy prior to surgical resection of tumors located in the periphery of the lung.