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Brachytherapy successful for choroidal melanoma in COMS subset study
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WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Brachytherapy was found to be a successful treatment in some patients with choroidal melanoma, according to a review of a subset of patients followed in the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study.
H. Culver Boldt, MD, described results of the subset study here at Retina 2005, held in conjunction with Hawaii 2005, The Royal Hawaiian Eye Meeting.
“Immediate, globe-conserving brachytherapy maintains excellent tumor control and survival in the subset of patients with tumor growth,” Dr. Boldt said.
Dr. Boldt said 44 patients in the study with suspected small choroidal melanoma were treated with brachytherapy. Patients with documented growth or malignant transformation were evaluated for clinical features, length of observation, complications and survival rates with and without metastatic disease.
He said results showed that for patients undergoing iodine-125 brachytherapy, mean overall vision was 20/50, and it was 20/30 in patients with tumors more than 3 mm from the optic disc or fovea. Dr. Boldt said no tumor growth was noted in the eyes undergoing brachytherapy.
He added that patients should be followed closely with photography and echography. He said the results in this subset of patients indicate a need for a randomized, prospective comparative study.