Laserscope Receives Approval for Lung Cancer Treatment

The US Food and Drug Administration granted premarket approval to Laserscope of San Jose, Calif., for use of its laser systems for photodynamic therapy, a cancer treatment that has shown promise in clinical trials. Photodynamic therapy involves injecting patients with a photosensitizing drug that is selectively absorbed by malignant tissue. A laser then destroys the fluorescing tissue without harm to surrounding healthy cells.
QLT PhotoTherapeutics Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, developer of PHOTOFRIN, a light-activated drug given FDA approval, has worked with Laserscope on a number of clinical studies. The new therapy, approved for certain early- and late-stage lung cancers, represents an alternative approach to conventional cancer treatment. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis.