Abstract
How the application of photodynamic therapy (PDT) is clinically efficacious in the rapid treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)?. This focused question has been designed for the present study, which is comprised of the theme: Does PDT offer effective treatment in the regression of OSCCs ? Three indexed databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE and CENTRAL) from May 1965 up to and including September 2019 for pertinent literature. Articles were selected if they had prospective design, published in English language and reported efficacy of PDT in the treatment of OSCCs in adult patients. Thirteen studies were included. A total of 447 patients with OSCCs were included. Their mean age ranged between 60.8 years to 69.6 years. The follow-up period of the clinical trials ranged from 3 months to 144 months. All studies showed statistically significant improvement in the complete regression of OSCCs on follow-up. Several clinical trials categorized their outcomes as complete, partial or no response to therapy. For PDT, the complete response ranged from 16% to 100% in the OSCCs. PDT shows to be a clinically efficient therapeutic modality for OSCCs. PDT is equally effective as surgery with regards to rates of recurrence.