• 6/8/2008
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Windsor Genova
  • All Headline News (www.allheadlinenews.com)

Using laser light to destroy cancer cells has been found to be safer in treating throat cancers than surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

Dr. H. Steven Sims, assistant professor of otolaryngology and director of University of Illinois-Chicago’s Chicago Institute for Voice Care, used photodynamic therapy to completely removed the cancer from around the vocal folds of patient Sammie Bush without affecting his voice. The procedure was done on May 15.

In photodynamic therapy, the patient is injected with a light-activate drug that makes all cells in the body very sensitive to light. After two days, normal cells will return to their original state but the cancerous cells will retain the drug. A laryngoscope is then used to beam laser light with a specific wavelength to the cancerous cells. A biochemical reaction disintegrates the cells in a few days.

According to Sim, the laser technique saves the patient the inconvenience and cost of the repeated traditional medical procedures. It is also fast, does not require surgery, minimally invasive and cures oral and laryngeal cancers at a rate of 90 to 94 percent after one treatment.

“Best of all, normal tissues around the malignancies are left undamaged,” Sims said, according to Newswise.com. He added that photodynamic therapy allows patients to quickly use their voice. In contrast, a radiation procedure requires longer treatment and may cause voice to temporarily deteriorate.

The only side effect of the laser technique is the skin’s sensitivity to light for up to six weeks following the procedure, so the patient must me properly protected from sunlight.