Efficacy and safety of photodynamic therapy mediatied by 5-aminolevulinic acid for the treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3(CIN 3): A single-center, prospective, cohort study

CIN 3 is a precancer with high progression rate and is advised be treated immediately. Traditional treatments have complications, here we evaluated the efficacy and safety of topical 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) based photodynamic therapy (PDT).. This study consisted 56 female patients diagnosed with CIN3. ALA-PDT were performed every 7-14 days. Cytology, HPV genotyping, colposcopy and pathology were assessed after treatment. Among the 56 patients, 26.8% patients had disease remission after one course PDT, 69.6% patients had partial remission to CIN2, which suggested more course. The total pathological regression rate was 89.3%. Although 6 patients did CKC finally, none of the pathology suggest cervical cancer and 2 of them were LSIL. The HPV clearance rate during the 6-month follow-up was 51.8%. No severe adverse effect was observed during the treatment. ALA-PDT is a option for CIN 3 with the main goal to preserve the struction and founction of cervix.