Daylight photodynamic therapy with methyl-aminolevulinate for the treatment of actinic cheilitis

Actinic cheilitis (AC) is a common premalignant condition that requires an effective treatment to reduce the risk of malignant transformation. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been recently added to the armamentarium available for AC treatment. Daylight PDT (D-PDT) is a novel PDT modality in which the activation of the topical photosensitizer is induced by the exposure to natural daylight instead of artificial light sources without preliminary occlusion. This simplified procedure was found to be more tolerated as compared to conventional PDT. We report our preliminary experience on the use of D-PDT using methyl-aminolevulinate cream in 10 patients with refractory AC of the lower lip. Patients received two consecutive D-PDT sessions with an interval of 7-14 days. At 3 months after therapy, a complete response was observed in seven patients, with sustained results in five patients over an observational period of 6-12months. Treatment was well tolerated.