Plasmonic nanophotothermal therapy - Destruction of 500 mm3 subcutaneous human basal cell carcinoma with gold nanoparticles and near infrared laser

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

Plasmonic nanophotothermal therapy targets large, multilesional basal cell carcinoma (BCC) where surgery or Mohs remains standard but complex, and photodynamic therapy with topical creams can be challenging for lesions over 2 cm. Delayed treatment may deepen tumor growth and increase recurrence risk. The study aims for total regression of large cutaneous lesions within one month without reoccurrence using murine models with 500 mm3 subcutaneous tumors. Increasing gold nanoparticle doses combined with near-infrared (NIR) laser were compared with surgery, control, laser alone, and nanoparticles alone, with apoptosis and improved cicatrization observed in effective protocols.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Rationale for BCC treatments and recurrence control

Role of photodynamic therapy and ROS mechanisms

Limitations and alternatives using radiotherapy and nanocarriers

Plasmonic properties of noble metal nanoparticles and gold nanoparticle thermal ablation

DOI: 10.1111/srt.13890 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Plasmonic nanophotothermal therapy: Destruction of 500 mm3 subcutaneous human basal cell carcinoma with gold nanoparticles and near infrared laser Sabrina Pesnel1 Laurent Mortier5 Antoine Bertolotti2 Sébastien Duquenne3 Jean-Luc Perrot6 Anne-Laure Morel1 Hassan Zahouani4 1TORSKAL, Sainte-Clotilde, Réunion, France 2 CICEC-INSERM1410, Service de Maladies-Infectieuses et Dermatologie, CHURéunion, Saint-Pierre Cedex, Réunion, France 3SELARL de pathologie, Saint-Pierre Cedex, Réunion, France 4 Ecole Centrale de Lyon, LTDS – TMM, Ecully Cedex, France 5 CHRU Lille, Service de Dermatologie, Hôpital Huriez, Lille, France 6 CHU Saint Etienne, Service de dermatologie, Hôpital Nord, Lille, France Correspondence Anne-Laure Morel, PhD, 1TORSKAL, Sainte-Clotilde, La Réunion, France. Email: [annelaure.morel@torskal.com](annelaure.morel@torskal.com) Funding information Regional council of Reunion Island; Ministèrede l’Education Nationale, de l’Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche; European Regional Development Fund Abstract Significance: Multilesional basal cell carcinoma (BCC) are spread on sun exposed skin areas, including arms, face and back. The first-line treatment remains the surgical resection or Mohs surgery. Despite its high complexity, Mohs surgery is well practiced in USA and Germany and presents very good results both in esthetic and incarcinology point of view. Large lesions more than 2 cm remain challenging to remove by topical cream used in photodynamic therapy (PDT). If these larger lesions are not treated in less than 1 month, they could grow deeply in the skin, thus enhancing the risk of reoccurrence and the severity of the disease. Despite this model herein studied, that is non melanoma skin cancer is a good prognostic cancer, the therapy aims to be applied to more aggressive melanoma skin cancers. Aim: Total regression of large cutaneous lesions less than 1 month with no reoccurrence. Approach: Tumor induction on murine model bearing a 500 mm3 subcutaneous lesion. Increasing dose of gold nanoparticles at fixed initial concentration C0 = 0. 3 mg/mL, infused into the tumor then exposition of the region of interest to NIR medical laser to assess the therapy. One or two intratumoral administration(s) were compared to surgery and control, that is no treatment, laser alone or nanoparticles alone. Results: Gold nanoparticles alone or the NIR laser alone did not induce the tumor regression. The combination of laser and nanoparticles called plasmonic nanophotothermal therapy induced apoptosis. Derma and hypoderm do not show any visible gold nanoparticles and demonstrated a good cicatrization process. Conclusion: Plasmonic nanophotothermal therapy using two doses of gold nanoparticles was the only protocol that proved its efficacy on large lesions in 14 days, that is 500 mm3 on a murine model bearing human basal cell carcinoma. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2024 The Author(s). Skin Research and Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Skin Res Technol. 2024;30:e13890. [https://doi.org/10.1111/srt.13890](https://doi.org/10.1111/srt.13890) wi[leyonlinelibrary.com/journal/srt](leyonlinelibrary.com/journal/srt) 1of9 PESNEL ET AL. KEYWORDS basal cell carcinoma, gold nanoparticles, hyperthermia, NIR Laser, phototherapy 1 INTRODUCTION Untreated BCC can cause the spread of the malignancy on surrounding tissues.1 Excision is still recommended as a therapy of choice in the guidelines. The nonresectable areas and non-eligible cases to radiotherapy could become locally advanced, metastatic cancers. The disgraceful scars and reoccurring tumors are usually treated by surgical excision, microscopically controlled surgery with 3D evaluation of excision mar

FAQs

Why are large basal cell carcinoma lesions difficult to treat with current topical photodynamic therapy approaches?

Lesions larger than 2 cm are challenging to remove with topical creams used in photodynamic therapy. If not treated within about one month, they may grow deeper into the skin, increasing recurrence risk and disease severity.

What is the main goal of the plasmonic nanophotothermal therapy protocol in this study?

Achieve total regression of large cutaneous lesions in less than one month without reoccurrence.

Which treatment components were necessary to induce tumor regression, and what mechanism was observed?

Gold nanoparticles alone or NIR laser alone did not cause tumor regression. The combination, termed plasmonic nanophotothermal therapy, induced apoptosis.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Noah