Help us with our Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for High and Low Grade Dysplasia trials

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PDT for High Grade Dysplasia Trial
PDT for Low Grade Dysplasia Trial
Financial support
Contacting us

Treatment with photodynamic therapy is currently being conducted at the National Medical Laser Centre at UCL (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/surgery/nmlc). The National Medical Laser Centre is also conducting clinical trials into treatment of dysplasia in Barrett's oesophagus in collaboration with other research institutes who work with the Barrett's Oesophagus Foundation.

All patients who attend the National Medical Laser Centre are registered with the UK Barrett's Oesophagus Registry (UKBOR) and Dr Lovat, the Consultant in charge of the Barrett's laser therapy programme is on the scientific advisory committee of UKBOR.

Photodynamic Therapy for High Grade Dysplasia Trial

We are currently recruiting patients with high grade dysplasia to a trial of PDT using the drug ALA. ALA is a naturally occuring substance in the body and is safe to use. It makes patients sensitive to light for only 1 day. This is different to the other drugs that have been used elsewhere in the world, including Photofrin which makes people sensitive to light for more than a month. We are looking for patients who are well enough to have endoscopy but are not well enough or are unwilling to undergo major surgery. We are looking to enter a total of 32 patients into this trial.

All patients are rigorously assessed before we accept them for treatment and are then kept under close endoscopic surveillance for a minimum of 2 years after succesful therapy. Our current success rate is thought to be about 60% although the final results of the trial will not be known for some years.

Photodynamic Therapy for Low Grade Dysplasia Trial

This is a pilot study of PDT using the drug ALA for patients with low grade dysplasia. We are looking for patients who are well enough to have endoscopy. We are looking to enter a total of 20 patients into this trial.

All patients are rigorously assessed before we accept them for treatment and are then kept under close endoscopic surveillance for a minimum of 2 years after succesful therapy. We believe that the treatment will be even more successful for these patients than those with high grade dysplasia but the final results of the trial will not be known for some years.

Financial Support

These trials were conceived and developed by the research team at the National Medical Laser Centre. We have succeeded in obtaining partial financial support from DUSA Pharmaceuticals, who make the drug ALA.

Contacting us

If you are interested in joining this trial, and for further details, please ask your doctor to send a referral letter to:

Dr Laurence Lovat,
Consultant Gastroenterologist & Senior Lecturer in Laser Medicine
National Medical Laser Centre
The Middlesex Hospital
Mortimer Street
London W1N 8AA

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