REVIEW article

Front. Oncol.

Sec. Head and Neck Cancer

Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1619560

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements in Personalized Medicine for Head and Neck Cancer: Molecular-based Approaches to Treatment and CareView all articles

Photodynamic therapy and nanomedicine: current knowledge, limitations, and applications in oral squamous cell carcinoma: a narrative review

Provisionally accepted
Fariba EsperouzFariba Esperouz1*MAURO LORUSSOMAURO LORUSSO1Andrea SantarelliAndrea Santarelli2Alfredo De LilloAlfredo De Lillo1Lorenzo Lo MuzioLorenzo Lo Muzio1Domenico CiavarellaDomenico Ciavarella1Lucio Lo RussoLucio Lo Russo1
  • 1Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
  • 2Department of Clinic Specialistic and Stomatological Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy, Ancona, Italy

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Oral squamous cell carcinoma is still a global health issue, even if oral cavity is an easily accessible anatomical site, the diagnosis is still delayed. Conventional treatments, like chemotherapy and radiotherapy , are usually employed, but not without complications. These drawbacks have necessitated the need for new therapies, one of these is photodynamic therapy (PDT).Nanotechnologies-enhanced PDT has significantly improved tumor targeting, bioavailability, and light absorption, paving the way for its application in early-stage of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and as part of combination therapies for advanced cases. Despite the potential advantages of PDT, such as tumor selectivity, minimization of systemic side effects and repeatability of treatment, some limitations still restrict its clinical application. Despite these challenges, its application in oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral potentially malignant disease is promising, both alone or in combination with other therapies. Addressing such pros and cons of this technique, PDT may then be a possible adjuvant tool in the management of OSCC.

Keywords: Nanomedicine, Photodynamic therapy, oral squamous cell carcinoma, cancer therapy, head and neck

Received: 28 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Esperouz, LORUSSO, Santarelli, De Lillo, Lo Muzio, Ciavarella and Lo Russo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Fariba Esperouz, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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