The Effect of Combination of Chemotherapy with Photodynamic Therapy and Surgical Treatment of Breast Cancer on the Structure of the Thymus.

Structural changes in the thymus of female Wistar rats with chemically induced breast cancer after photodynamic therapy (PDT) followed by surgical resection and chemotherapy (doxorubicin) were studied by histological methods. Structural changes in the thymus after this multimodal treatment may indicate enhanced proliferation of cells in the cortex (cortical substance is enlarged), activation of both positive and negative selection T cells, and intensification of T-cell differentiation and migration from the thymus.