ReviewPhotochemistry and photobiology2020
Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer: What's Past is Prologue.
Review in Photochemistry and photobiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 121 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 291 citations in OpenAlex.
- Photodithazine-Mediated Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy: A Systematic Review of Efficacy and Applications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Umbrella review of photodynamic therapy for cancer: efficacy, safety, and clinical applications.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Reprogramming Photodynamic Therapy with BODIPY Photosensitizers: From Local Phototoxicity Toward Precision Photodynamic Oncology.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Efficacy and Safety of DVDMS-Photodynamic Therapy for Dysphagia in Advanced Esophageal Cancer: A Phase II Clinical Trial.Cancer science · 2026Article
- Photodynamic therapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: immunomodulation and stromal targeting of cancer-associated fibroblasts.Translational oncology · 2026Review
- From Porphyrins to Versatile Photostable Bacteriochlorins: Triplet-State-Driven Design of Perfluorinated Photosensitizers.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Novel Water-Soluble, Heavy Atom-Free Thioxanthene-Fused Naphthalimide-Polyamine Phototheranostic Conjugates.ChemMedChem · 2026Article
- Blue light activated nitrogen doped poly floral carbon quantum dots: multifunctional agent for anti-microbial and anti-cancer photodynamic therapy.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2026Article
- Physicochemical and Interfacial Insights into Porphyrin-Loaded HPMC Hydrogels.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Molecular Engineering of Porphyrins for Near-Infrared Bioimaging and Phototherapy.Chemical & biomedical imaging · 2026Review
- Multimodal phototherapy for Glioblastoma: from mechanistic action to synergistic delivery and therapeutic strategies.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Review
- Dendritic cell-derived exosomes from PDT-treated glioma cells enhance antitumor immunity as a subcellular vaccine.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Mechanism-guided design of specific-activated photosensitizers for precision photodynamic therapy.Chemical science · 2026Review
- Bridging cancer therapies: the role of magnetic nanoparticles in combination cancer therapy.Discover nano · 2026Review
- Nanochirality-programmed type-I photosensitizer enables deep-tumor photodynamic therapy by reducing extracellular-matrix adhesion.Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 2026Article
- Empowering photodynamic therapy with artificial intelligence: current trends and future directions.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Cancer Management Using Photodynamic Therapy: Fundamentals, Mechanism and Advances.Current pharmaceutical design · 2026Review
- Syntheses and Identification of New Dithiophosphinic Acid Complexes and their Potential as Photodynamic Agents in Cancer Therapy.Medicinal chemistry (Shariqah (United Arab Emirates)) · 2026Article
- Engineering Carbon Nitride Quantum Dots via Sulfur Doping for Controlled Reactive Oxygen Species Generation.Global challenges (Hoboken, NJ) · 2026Article
- The Current State of Research in the Field of Photosensitizers and Photoactivators for Photodynamic/Photothermal Cancer Therapy: A Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Thomas J Dougherty from Roswell Park Cancer Center played a major role in the progress of photodynamic therapy (PDT) from a laboratory science into a real-world clinical therapy to treat patients with cancer. Nevertheless over the succeeding 45 years, it is fair to say that the overall progress of clinical PDT for cancer has been somewhat disappointing. The goal of this perspective article is to summarize some of the clinical trials run by various companies using photosensitizers with different structures that have been conducted for different types of cancer. While some have been successful, others have failed, and several are now ongoing. I will attempt to touch on some factors, which have influenced this checkered history and look forward to the future of clinical PDT for cancer.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.