A trial looking at photodynamic therapy (PDT) for men with untreated localised prostate cancer

This trial was trying to find out how well phtodynamic therapy (PDT) worked for prostate cancer.

Doctors are always searching for better treatments that have less severe side effects. This trial was open to men with prostate cancer that was confined to the prostate gland and who had chosen to have ‘active monitoring’.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses light therapy and a drug called a photosensitiser. The drug is inactive until it comes into contact with light. When the light is directed at cells containing the drug, it is activated and can kill the cells. In this trial, the researchers were looking at a photosensitising drug called WST09. Although results of other clinical trials had looked promising, doctors did not know how well it would work for prostate cancer.

The aim of this trial was to find out