{"entity":{"id":"photoimmunotherapy","kind":"technology","name":"Photoimmunotherapy & photodynamic therapy","aka":[],"tldr":"An antibody carries a light-sensitive dye to the tumour; shining near-infrared light then bursts the cells.","summary":"Photoimmunotherapy conjugates the IR700 dye to an antibody; under 690 nm near-infrared light the dye undergoes a photochemical reaction that ruptures the cell membrane and causes immunogenic cell death, so only antibody-bound cells in the illuminated field are killed. Cetuximab sarotalocan (Akalux, Rakuten Medical), targeting EGFR, is approved in Japan (2020) for recurrent head and neck cancer, and a US phase 3 is ongoing. Classical photodynamic therapy with porfimer or ALA is used for skin, oesophageal, and bile-duct lesions. The treatment is highly selective, repeatable, and immunogenic. Light penetration limits it to accessible tumours, although fibre-optic delivery extends its reach. The simple version is that an antibody carries a light-sensitive dye to the tumour and shining light then bursts the cells.","status":"approved","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoimmunotherapy","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoimmunotherapy"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["head-and-neck"],"sections":["devices","immunotherapy"],"technologies":[],"targets":["egfr"],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"IR700 dye conjugated to antibody undergoes photochemical reaction under 690 nm light, causing membrane rupture and immunogenic cell death.","strengths":["Highly selective, repeatable","Immunogenic"],"limitations":["Light penetration limits to accessible tumours"]},"route":"/technologies/photoimmunotherapy/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"advanced-cutaneous-scc","kind":"cancer","name":"Advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/advanced-cutaneous-scc/"},{"id":"head-and-neck","kind":"cancer","name":"Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/head-and-neck/"},{"id":"recurrent-metastatic-hnscc","kind":"cancer","name":"Recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/recurrent-metastatic-hnscc/"}],"section":[{"id":"devices","kind":"section","name":"Devices & Physical Therapies","route":"/fronts/devices/"},{"id":"immunotherapy","kind":"section","name":"Immunotherapy","route":"/fronts/immunotherapy/"}],"target":[{"id":"egfr","kind":"target","name":"EGFR","route":"/targets/egfr/"}],"drug":[{"id":"cetuximab-sarotalocan","kind":"drug","name":"Cetuximab sarotalocan","route":"/drugs/cetuximab-sarotalocan/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-photoimmunotherapy-plus-pd1","kind":"idea","name":"Photoimmunotherapy as an in situ vaccine with PD-1 blockade","route":"/ideas/idea-photoimmunotherapy-plus-pd1/"}],"institution":[{"id":"ncc-hospital-east","kind":"institution","name":"National Cancer Center Hospital East","route":"/institutions/ncc-hospital-east/"},{"id":"pmda","kind":"institution","name":"Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency","route":"/institutions/pmda/"},{"id":"roswell-park","kind":"institution","name":"Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center","route":"/institutions/roswell-park/"}],"term":[{"id":"immunogenic-cell-death","kind":"term","name":"Immunogenic cell death","route":"/terms/immunogenic-cell-death/"}],"technology":[{"id":"photodynamic-therapy-lasers","kind":"technology","name":"Photodynamic therapy lasers and light sources","route":"/technologies/photodynamic-therapy-lasers/"},{"id":"radiodynamic-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Radiodynamic therapy and radiosensitising nanoparticles","route":"/technologies/radiodynamic-therapy/"},{"id":"sonodynamic-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Sonodynamic therapy","route":"/technologies/sonodynamic-therapy/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-tme-immunosuppression","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Cold tumours and the immunosuppressive microenvironment","route":"/bottlenecks/b-tme-immunosuppression/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"devices-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Devices and physical therapies roadmap: heat and light → electric fields and focused sound → drug-releasing implants","route":"/roadmaps/devices-roadmap/"}],"company":[{"id":"modulight","kind":"company","name":"Modulight","route":"/companies/modulight/"}]}}