Laser Cancer Treatment is an effective medical practice in which a laser beam is used to cure and treat cancer. In this laser cancer treatment, the heat produced by laser light is used to damage the cancer cells and shrink the tumor. Laser can be used in two ways to treat cancer:
a) Laser light is used to shrink or destroy a tumor with heat
b) Laser light activates a photosensitizing agent -- that destroys only the cancer cells. This treatment is called the photodynamic therapy or PDT.
Shrink Or Destroy A Tumor With Heat
Laser beam is directed through an endoscope to treat the tumor which otherwise cannot not be reached in a surgery. The advantage of this treatment is that the tumor can be treated precisely without making any large cuts. Thus the problems caused by a normal surgery do not happen. In this way, lasers can be used to remove cancers of different internal organs like the colon, esophagus, lungs and throat. In certain conditions where the laser cannot cure the cancer, it can be used to at least relieve the problems that are caused by the cancer. For instance in certain kinds of lung cancer, if the cancer cannot be cured, the laser can be used to help the patient to breathe easily.
Photodynamic Therapy or PDT
In this laser cancer treatment, a special photosensitizing agent is injected into the bloodstream, which gets absorbed by the body over a certain time period. This agent remains in or around tumor cells for a longer time than in normal tissue. The idea is to activate this agent by a laser light. This releases a chemical, which destroys the cancer cells. The laser beam is precisely sent once the agent has left the normal cells but continues to remain in the cancer cells. PDT has many advantages over other laser cancer treatments as in this method, the cancer cells can be detected and destroyed while the normal cells are spared. Also, any side effects are fairly mild.
However a problem is that the laser light used for this treatment cannot be used in deep-seated tumors, as it cannot pass through more than about 1 centimeter of tissue. Another problem is that the photosensitizing agent used in this treatment makes patients very sensitive to light and causes sunburns with very little exposure to the sun. This condition takes sometimes weeks to normalize, as the body has to get rid of the agent. As a result, the patient’s outdoor activities might get limited.
Though laser cancer treatment can be used on its own, for effective results, it is generally combined with other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation.