Brain tumor glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a disease for which 30% of adults diagnosed survive one year after diagnosis, and only 3% of patients live longer than five years. GBM surgery is assisted by the use of fluorescent photosensitiser (PS) drugs. One such PS is Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), a metadrug of exogenously administered 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA). PpIX can precisely guide GBM resection as its prodrug 5-ALA very specifically accumulates in GBM lesions due to structural and functional differences in the vicinity of the GBM tumors. Scientists have found that apart from being a photosensitive drug, 5-ALA is also a potent...
