Plus it doesn t cause awful side effects.
Blue light therapy cancer treatment.
It s used to treat actinic keratosis ak a skin condition that can become cancer and is used only on the face or scalp.
Blue light therapy is an fda approved in office treatment for actinic keratoses precancerous lesions.
More commonly known as photodynamic therapy pdt blue light therapy works often as well as surgery or radiation therapy.
Photodynamic therapy pdt is a two stage treatment that combines light energy with a drug photosensitizer designed to destroy cancerous and precancerous cells after light activation.
Insurances typically cover the full cost of the treatment but this varies by insurance.
Pdt using levulan and a proprietary blue light is currently fda approved for the treatment of early skin precancers called actinic keratoses rough scaly spots generally on sun exposed skin.
Aminolevulinic acid ala or levulan is a drug that s put right on the skin.
A relatively easy procedure blue light therapy has successfully treated multiple conditions including cancer actinic keratosis a type of superficial skin cancer and acne.
Blue light therapy also called blue light treatment or blue light photodynamic therapy is a treatment performed by dermatologists to combat pre cancerous lesions like actinic keratosis.
Blue light therapy is most commonly used to treat sun damage and premalignant or malignant skin cancer growths.
It can actually be used to prevent skin cancer and remove both precancerous skin.
The photosensitizer is nontoxic until it is activated by light.
The agent is absorbed by cells all over the body but stays in cancer cells longer than it does in normal cells.
Pdt is also known as ala pdt treatment or super blue light.
A special blue light rather than laser light is used to activate this drug.
Photosensitizers are activated by a specific wavelength of light energy usually from a laser.
Blue light therapy for actinic keratosis can help treat and reduce the number of precancers potentially reducing the number of full fledged skin cancers and helping in photo rejuvenation.
In the first step of pdt for cancer treatment a photosensitizing agent is injected into the bloodstream.
What is actinic keratosis.