Effect of Photodynamic Therapy with 5-Aminolevulinic Acid on Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer accounts for approximately 5 % of all cancer deaths in humans. The large majorities of bladder tumors are superficial at diagnosis and, after local surgical therapy, have a high rate of local recurrence and progression. Current treatments extend time to recurrence but not alter survival. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an accepted therapeutic procedure suitable for the treatment of a variety of tumors, particularly against superficial bladder cancer. In this study, we investigated the effect of ALA-mediated PDT on human bladder transitional cancer cell (TCC) lines. Cytotoxicity was determined by MTT and LDH assays. The results show that ALA-induced photosensitization has a high potential for PDT of transitional bladder cancer