Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) was approved to be covered by health insurance in Japan in 2013, as an
additional intraoperative local treatment for invasive tumor cells after maximum safe resection of the
primary malignant brain tumors. Seven years have passed, and PDT is conducted in 26 academic centers
in Japan, and more than 200 cases receive the benefit of PDT per year. This review provides the latest
knowledges of PDT for malignant brain tumors, illustrating how PDT is applied in the clinical practice
in the world.
