“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”
A trial looking at photodynamic therapy and surgery for basal cell skin cancer
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Cancer type:
Basal cell skin cancer
Non melanoma skin cancer
Skin cancer
Status:
Results
Phase:
Phase 4
This trial compared photodynamic therapy (PDT) with surgery for basal cell skin cancer.
Basal cell skin cancer (BCC) is a type of non melanoma skin cancer. Doctors often remove BCC with surgery. This usually works very well, but can leave a scar depending on the size of the BCC removed.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is treatment using light. Doctors can treat the area of BCC, without affecting the healthy skin around it.
The aims of this trial were to find out
- How well PDT works for superficial basal cell skin cancer
- More about the side effects
Summary of results
The trial team found that photodynamic therapy (PDT) was useful for removing basal cell skin cancer and caused less scaring than surgery. But a year after treatment, they found the cancer had come back (recurred) in some people who had PDT.
196 people took part in this trial
- Half had photodynamic therapy
- Half had surgery
The researchers checked the area of skin where the BCC had been removed a year after treatment had finished. They were very pleased with how the skin looked in over 9 out of 10 people (94%) treated with PDT. This compared with 6 out of 10 people (60%) treated with surgery.
They also found that just under 1 in 10 basal cell cancers (9.3%) had come back in people who had PDT. The areas of cancer had not come back in anybody who had surgery.
The main side effect of PDT was a skin reaction to the light treatment. A very small number of people who had surgery had a mild wound infection.
We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists (
) and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
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Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Chief Investigator
Dr Sally Ibbotson
Supported by
Galderma Research and Development
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Last review date
CRUK internal database number:
Oracle 585
Please note - unless we state otherwise in the summary, you need to talk to your doctor about joining a trial.
Charlie took part in a trial to try new treatments
Last reviewed:
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