Phototherapy uses light to kill cancer cells. A drug that makes cancer cells sensitive to light is given to the patient and then a special light is used to shine on the cancer cells to kill them. In one type of phototherapy, called PUVA therapy, a patient will receive a drug called psoralen, and then ultraviolet A light will be shone on the skin. In another type of phototherapy, called extracorporeal photochemotherapy, the patient will be given drugs, and then some of the blood cells will be taken from the body, put under a special light, and put back into the body. If phototherapy is given, directions from the doctor should be followed as to the amount of sunlight the patient should receive.
Biological therapy tries to get the body to fight cancer.
It uses materials made by the body or made in a laboratory to boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against disease. Bone marrow transplantation is used to replace the bone marrow with healthy bone marrow. First, all of the bone marrow in the body is destroyed with high doses of chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy. The healthy marrow from the donor is given to the patient through a needle in the vein, and the marrow replaces the marrow that was destroyed. A bone marrow transplant using marrow from a relative or unrelated person is called an allogeneic bone marrow transplant.