Noninvasive monitoring of photodynamic therapy on skin neoplastic lesions using the optical attenuation coefficient measured by optical coherence tomography.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a promising alternative for treatment of skin lesions such as squamous cell carcinoma. We propose a method to monitor the effects of PDT in a noninvasive way by using the optical attenuation coefficient (OAC) calculated from optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. We conducted a study on mice with chemically induced neoplastic lesions and performed PDT on these lesions using homemade photosensitizers. The response of neoplastic lesions to therapy was monitored using, at the same time, macroscopic clinical visualization, histopathological analysis, OCT imaging, and OCT-based attenuation coefficient measurement. Results with all four modalities demonstrated a positive response to treatment. The attenuation coefficient was found to be 1.4 higher in skin lesions than in healthy tissue and it decreased after therapy. This study shows that the OAC is a potential tool to noninvasively assess the evolution of skin neoplastic lesions with time after treatment.