Dear Editor, Skin cancer patients may benefit from photodynamic therapy (PDT), which employs light exposure to activating medicine that produces cytotoxic damage solely to the diseased skin. Preservative-free PDT has become increasingly popular in dermatology since its discovery in the early twentieth century and the advent of topical photosensitizers occured two decades ago. Second-generation photosensitizers, such as 5-aminolevulinic acid and methyl aminolaevulinic acid, are now being developed for the treatment of actinic keratoses. As an alternative to more invasive therapies, PDT's non-invasive nature and portability make it an attractive option. Shorter recovery durations and betterlooking cosmetic results are also associated with this method. PDT has been proven to be useful in the treatment of various nonmelanoma skin cancers because of these benefits. In addition to skin cancer, photodynamic treatment may help to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, psoriasis, acne, and leishmaniasis. Photosensitizers are light-activated chemicals that may be used to kill certain cells. The Nobel prize-winning scientist Hermann von Tappeiner and his student Oscar Raab discovered that acridine orange is toxic to paramecia protozoa when exposed to light. When Von Tappeiner and dermatologist Jan Jesion-ek used eosin and light in 1903, it was the first clinical application of PDT on humans. When they described this phenomenon in their textbook as an oxygen-dependent process, they created the term "photodynamic reaction" [1,2].
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