Uveal melanoma therapy associated with reduced quality of life

Patients undergoing radiation therapy for uveal melanoma experienced a reduced quality of life, according to a study at the University of Vienna. Compared to patients with other types of cancer, however, the patients with uveal melanoma seemed to feel relatively good, the researchers said.

Sophie Chabert and colleagues evaluated the quality of life for 98 patients with uveal melanoma who were treated with brachytherapy or stereotactic external beam irradiation. Two psychological questionnaires, the HADS-D scale and two visual analogue scales were applied to compare overall quality of life before and after treatment.

No significant differences in the quality of life was seen among the treatments with different methods of radiotherapy. A comparison of the quality life before and after therapy did indicate a decrease in quality of life following radiotherapy, the authors said.

The average binocular visual acuity was 0.8. Complications arising from the treatment included a reduction in VA in the affected eye, keratitis, cataract, scleral and corneal necrosis, radiation retinopathy, radiation optic neuropathy, retinal detachment and glaucoma, according to the study authors.

The study is published in the February issue of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica.