In patient treated by mastectomy for breast cancer, chest wall and skin recurrences are frequently encountered. Chest wall recurrence results in profound physical and psychological morbidity, and often heralds the appearance of other, more life
threatening metastasis. Traditionally the two most common treatments have been site-specific radiation and resection. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) provided an alternative treatment modality using a photosensitizer and laser light to induce
selective
tumor
necrosis. The patient was 64-years old female, had undergone breast conserving surgery for cancer of the right breast. Chest wall and skin metastasis recurred at 40 months after the adjuvant treatment of chemotherapy. The lesions were progressed
despite
2nd, 3rd chemotherapy and hyperth ermal therapy. The light was administered through a diode laser turned to 630 ㎚ wave length (150 J/㎠ in light dosage, 200 ㎽/㎠ in intensity), 72 h after photosensitizing agent injection. There was clinical
evidence
of partial response, defined as granulation tissue with re-epitheliaization from the periphery of normal epithelium. PDT has demonstrated good results in other solid tumors at some hospitals, however there has been no application for breast
cancer
in
Korea previously. Our experience suggests that PDT is non-invasive procedure that is highly tolerable, particularly when compared with other modalities, and an effective treatment method for chest wall or skin recurrence that shows no response to
other
treatments.
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