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Thermochemotherapy efficient on small retinoblastoma tumors
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ESSEN, Germany — A combination of chemo and thermotherapy is effective for treating small retinoblastomas, according to a study here. For larger tumors, the recurrence rate was unacceptably high, the study authors said.
Thermochemotherapy (a combination of chemotherapy and transpupillary thermotherapy) using an indirect laser ophthalmoscope with a spot size of about 400 µm was effective for treating retinoblastomas with a tumor height of less than 4 mm in the study.
A.O. Schueler, MD, and others here with the University of Essen analyzed 55 tumors of 26 children with bilateral retinoblastoma who underwent thermochemotherapy with an indirect laser ophthalmoscope.
Local recurrence occurred in 21 tumors (38%), with a mean onset of 3.2 months after the therapy. The risk of tumor recurrence correlated with the tumor height. The recurrence rate was 17% for tumors less than 2 mm high, 37% for tumors between 2 and 4 mm and 63% for larger retinoblastomas.
Complications included transient corneal opacification, focal iris atrophy, peripheral lens opacity, circumscribed transient retinal detachment and diffuse choroidal atrophy.
The study is published in the January issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology.