Photodynamic Therapy for Endobronchial Obstruction due to Recurrent Lung Cancer : 2 Cases Report

Recurrent lung cancer with endobronchial obstruction after surgical resection due to lung cancer may lead to severe dyspnea, respiratory insufficiency and sudden death. Many palliative modalities including partial excision of endobronchial tumor, insertion of stent, and evaporation with laser, have been used for endobronchial obstruction due to recurrent endobronchial lung cancer. In photodynamic therapy (PDT), photosensitizer named photofrin, is infused intravenously at 48 hours before PDT, and diode laser of an appropriate wavelength is applied to induce destruction of tumor mass with 200~250 J/cm2. We report 2 cases of treatment using PDT for endobronchial obstruction due to recurrent endobronchial lung cancer after surgical resection.