Photodynamic therapy for cutaneous verrucous carcinoma

Cutaneous verrucous carcinoma is a low-grade and well-differentiated variant of squamous cell carcinoma. This rare neoplasm follows a seemingly indolent progression and exhibits a low metastatic potential. Photodynamic therapy relies on the selective intratumoral cell accumulation and photoactivation of a photosensitizer, leading to the generation of phototoxic compounds responsible for necrosis and apoptosis of the target cells. An 82-year-old man presenting with a large long-standing verrucous carcinoma on the leg was treated successfully by 6 photodynamic therapy sessions administered at weekly intervals using methyl-aminolevulinate and 57-J/cm2 irradiations at 634-nm wavelength. The use of methyl-aminolevulinate–photodynamic therapy for treating cutaneous verrucous carcinoma had not been reported so far. It may represent a convenient therapeutic alternative in this setting.