Porphyrin and Phthalocyanine Photosensitizers as PDT Agents: A New Modality for the Treatment of Melanoma

In the United States, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, which is further divided into three types of cancer: basal cell, squamous cell and melanoma. Basal cell and squamous cell cancers are the most common types of skin cancer, but they are less deadly and more readily treated than melanoma. While it is the least common of the skin cancers, more than 68,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma each year, and an additional 48,000 are diagnosed with early forms of cancer that involve the top layer of the skin. [1] It is the leading cause of death from skin cancer, due to its metastatic be‐ havior. The frequency of melanoma has more than doubled in the past thirty years, espe‐ cially in Western industrialized societies. [2]