Photodynamic Therapy as an Effective and Safe Treatment for pediatric Cutaneous Diseases: A Systematic Review

Although the application of Photo-Dynamic Therapy (PDT) has been increased for the treatment of cutaneous disease in adults with various skin problems, it seems that the effectiveness of the approach has been less investigated in children. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to assess the application of photodynamic therapy in children with skin disease.

The present review has followed Cochrane’s methods for conducting systematic reviews of interventions. Relevant studies were collected by searching four electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Medline, and Web of Sciences using such keywords as "photodynamic therapy " and "PDT", in combination with "cutaneous disease ", "skin disease ", and "Children" or "pediatric" up to 2022.

In total, 42 studies were included in this review, among which 14 were conducted on patients with acne vulgaris (treatment success rate: 26.3% to 100%) and eight articles studied plantar warts and condyloma acuminatum (treatment success rate: 30% to 100%). Other cutaneous diseases in children treated by PDT included porokeratosis, port-wine stain, basal cell carcinomas, leishmaniasis, tinea capitis, xeroderma pigmentosum, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, lymphomatoid papulosis, and Bowen’s disease, with treatment success rates between 30% and 100%.

It seems that PDT has a treatment potential to be used for children with cutaneous disease. However, due to the existence of non-uniform parameters for PDT treatment, optimization of the treatment protocol (distinct for each disease) is necessary to ensure a better result with long-term remission in children with cutaneous disease.