Focal therapy of localised prostate cancer by vascular targeted photodynamic therapy with WST-11 (TOOKAD® Soluble)

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is the activation of a light sensitive compound within tissues to produce a desired treatment effect, including apoptosis and necrosis, and is a modality effectively used in a variety of benign and malignant conditions for the purpose of tissue ablation. TOOKAD® (T or WST-09) and TOOKAD Soluble (TS or WST-11), two derivatives of the photosynthetic pigment bacteriochlorophyll (Bchl), represent a new generation of photosensitizers and a new paradigm in PDT for cancer treatment. Studies of the mechanism of action, optimisation of treatment parameters, and therapeutic efficacy have included rigorous laboratory research, preclinical models and a series of prospectively designed clinical investigations demonstrating the great promise for this class of therapeutics in the treatment of human malignancies. This short review briefly describes the principles of T/TS vascular targeted photodynamic therapy and its application in the context of localised prostate cancer treatment as a form of focal therapy.