Assessment of the specificity of a new folate-targeted photosensitizer for peritoneal metastasis of epithelial ovarian cancer to enable intraperitoneal photodynamic therapy. A preclinical study

摘要

Background: Ovarian cancer's prognosis remains dire after primary therapy. Recurrence rate is disappointingly high as 60% of women with epithelial ovarian cancer considered in remission will develop recurrent disease within 5 years. Special attention to undetected peritoneal metastasis during surgery is necessary as they are the main predictive factors of recurrences. Folate Receptor alpha (FR alpha) shows promising prospects in targeting ovarian cancerous cells and intraperitoneal photodynamic therapy (PDT) could be a solution in addition to macroscopic cytoreductive surgery to treat peritoneal micrometastasis. The aim of this preclinical study is to assess the specificity of a folate-targeted photosensitizer for ovarian peritoneal micrometastasis.