Cytoluminescent therapy
Encyclopedia
Cytoluminescent Therapy is a proposed cancer
treatment as a form of Photodynamic Therapy
(PDT) characterized by a photosensitiser
that is supposedly eliminated from normal tissue but selectively accumulated in neoplastic and dysplastic tissue. This is followed by whole body irradiation
with light of the specific wave
length which activates the photosensitiser. The result is supposed to be selective damage or elimination of tumor
cells while normal tissues are unharmed. However, tests as of 2003 did not show any positive clinical effects in a group of 48 patients treated in this way.
The original providers of CLT in Killaloe, Ireland, are no longer performing the treatment. Much of their claims of effectiveness were based upon anecdotal reports, not research. In fact, the wavelength of light used to active the chlorphyll-derived photosensitizer used in CLT is incapable of penetrating tissue more than several millimeters. The FDA-approved therapy PDT uses red light (wavelength approximately 600-700 nm) and penetrates human tissue up to 2 centimeters. No wavelength can fully penetrate the human body, as the purveyors of CLT claimed.
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
treatment as a form of Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy
Photodynamic therapy is used clinically to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including malignant cancers, and is recognised as a treatment strategy which is both minimally invasive and minimally toxic...
(PDT) characterized by a photosensitiser
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
that is supposedly eliminated from normal tissue but selectively accumulated in neoplastic and dysplastic tissue. This is followed by whole body irradiation
Irradiation
Irradiation is the process by which an object is exposed to radiation. The exposure can originate from various sources, including natural sources. Most frequently the term refers to ionizing radiation, and to a level of radiation that will serve a specific purpose, rather than radiation exposure to...
with light of the specific wave
Wave
In physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...
length which activates the photosensitiser. The result is supposed to be selective damage or elimination of tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...
cells while normal tissues are unharmed. However, tests as of 2003 did not show any positive clinical effects in a group of 48 patients treated in this way.
The original providers of CLT in Killaloe, Ireland, are no longer performing the treatment. Much of their claims of effectiveness were based upon anecdotal reports, not research. In fact, the wavelength of light used to active the chlorphyll-derived photosensitizer used in CLT is incapable of penetrating tissue more than several millimeters. The FDA-approved therapy PDT uses red light (wavelength approximately 600-700 nm) and penetrates human tissue up to 2 centimeters. No wavelength can fully penetrate the human body, as the purveyors of CLT claimed.