A Pilot Study of Short (1-2.5 h), Medium (4-6 h) and Long (18-24 h) Applications of 20% Topical ALA-PDT for Photodynamic Therapy of Cutaneous T and B Cell Lymphomas and Cutaneous Infiltrates of Early CLL
A Pilot Study of Short (1-2.5 h), Medium (4-6 h) and Long (18-24 h) Applications of 20% Topical ALA-PDT for Photodynamic Therapy of Cutaneous T and B Cell Lymphomas and Cutaneous Infiltrates of Early CLL
RATIONALE: Photodynamic therapy uses light and drugs that make cancer cells more sensitive to light to kill cancer cells. Photosensitizing drugs such as aminolevulinic acid are absorbed by cancer cells and, when exposed to light, become active and kill the cancer cells.
PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to study the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy using aminolevulinic acid in treating patients who have cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, B-cell lymphoma, or early chronic lymphocytic leukemia involving the skin.
OBJECTIVES:
OUTLINE: This is a randomized study. Patients' individual lesions are randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms.
In all arms, treatment repeats every 2 weeks for up to 12 courses in the absence of unacceptable toxicity or progressive (systemic) disease.
Additional patients are accrued to a treatment arm if at least 2 of 3 patients on that arm experience 25% cumulative clinical response.
Patients are followed at 1, 3, and 6 months and then every 6 months for 2 years.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 4-10 patients will be accrued for this study within 5-7 years.
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
One of the following histologically confirmed diagnoses:
Cutaneous B-cell or T-cell lymphoma confined to the skin
Early chronic lymphocytic leukemia with cutaneous B-cell infiltrates not requiring systemic therapy
Stable or slowly progressive disease that is not expected to substantially change during treatment
PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
Age
Performance status
Life expectancy
Hematopoietic
Hepatic
Renal
Other
PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
Biologic therapy
Chemotherapy
Endocrine therapy
Radiotherapy
Surgery
Other