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Diode laser treatment of retinoblastoma increases risk of vitreous relapse
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Nearly one in seven patients with retinoblastoma developed vitreous relapse after primary chemotherapy, and adjuvant treatment with diode laser-induced hyperthermia may increase the risk, a study found.
John L. Hungerford, FRCS, and colleagues at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London retrospectively reviewed 106 eyes with retinoblastoma treated with different forms of therapy. Sixty-eight eyes received primary chemotherapy, and 38 eyes received systemic chemotherapy with adjuvant diode laser hyperthermia.
The researcher found that 15 eyes (14%) developed vitreous relapse at a mean 7.2 months after chemotherapy. Diode laser-treated patients had a significantly higher relapse rate compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Eight of the 38 (21%) diode laser-treated eyes developed vitreous relapse vs. seven of the 68 (10%) chemotherapy-only eyes (P < .005), according to the study.
The number of hyperthermia treatments, laser settings and concomitant use of systemic chemotherapy were not associated with higher rates of vitreous relapse, the authors noted.
The study is published in the September issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology.