Using 5‑FU and vitamin D to boost light-based skin cancer treatment
Official title: Project 1: 5FU and Vitamin D as Neoadjuvants for Photodynamic Priming to Enhance Skin Cancer Therapy
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11195094 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project combines low‑intensity light therapy with topical 5‑fluorouracil and vitamin D to help people with basal or squamous cell skin cancers get better results from treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | December 1, 1999 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $208,428 |
| NIH project number | 5P01CA084203-20 |
| Project ID | NIH-11195094 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma—especially larger, recurrent, or treatment‑resistant tumors—who can receive care at the study center.
✕Less likely to help
People with small routine skin cancers already cured by simple excision, those with unrelated medical conditions, or those unable to tolerate topical 5‑FU or light therapy may not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
If I have a nonmelanoma skin cancer, this work uses a light‑activated treatment called photodynamic therapy (PDT) together with topical 5‑FU and vitamin D as add‑on medicines to make the tumor more likely to respond. The team studies how a gentle PDT approach can trigger immune signals in the tumor and attract immune cells, a process they call photodynamic priming. They use lab models and prior patient experience with aminolevulinate‑PDT to refine the combination and explore pairing it with immune checkpoint drugs. The goal is to improve clearance of large, recurrent, or hard‑to‑treat basal and squamous cell skin cancers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could clear larger or treatment‑resistant nonmelanoma skin cancers and make immune therapies work better.
How similar studies have gone: Aminolevulinate‑PDT has worked for many NMSC patients and early lab and clinical work shows 5‑FU and vitamin D can improve responses, while combining low‑dose PDT with immunotherapy is a newer strategy with promising preclinical results.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Maytin, Edward V — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Maytin, Edward V
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.