Mechanisms Of Apoptosis Induced By Photodynamic Therapy With Hypocrellin Derivatives In Pancreatic Cancer Cells Capan-1

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive system with high malignancy and difficulty of early diagnosis, low rate of resection and poor prognosis. In recent studies, the incidence rate had risen in China and foreign countries. With only 1% overall survival of 5 years, pancreatic cancer currently rates forth in cancer-related deaths in western countries. The number of the patients in present each year is 5-fold contrast to the 1950s in PUMCH. In the past several decades, with advances in surgical technique and postoperative care, the rate of resection is steadily increasing and the mortality rate is decreasing as well. But the prognosis in pancreatic cancer remains pessimistic. So pancreatic cancer was dubbed as an "obstinate fortress in the 21st century". In order to improve survival or at least improve quality of life, initial primary diagnosis and adjunctive treatment is very important, especially in advanced tumors.Photodynamic therapy has been described as a promising new modality for the treatment of cancer. In general, a photosensitizer is administrated to tumor, and stimulated upon light, the photosensitizer must be able to absorb the light and generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) through photosensitization resulting in tumor. Photodynamic therapy for cancer was first reported in 1970s and photodynamic therapy to pancreatic cancer was investigated from 1981. Many kinds of photosensitizers were used in pancreatic cancer experimental treatment for last two decades, in 2002, there is a phase I clinical trial for pancreatic cancer practiced in UK, which marked photodynamic therapy of pancreatic cancer from the lab to the clinical.To quest new photosensitizers is one of the development tendency and current hot topics in the field of photodynamic therapy. The naturally occurring polycyclic quinines, including hypocrellin A and B, were isolated from the fungus Hypocrella bambuase sacc by Chinese scientists. Compared with the first generation photosensitizer they have the advantage of easy preparation, purification and chemical modification, high reactive...