5-fluorouracil use in corneal tumor treatment making a comeback
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KOLOA, Hawaii — The use of topical 5-fluorouracil remains an option for treating some corneal tumors, Beeran B. Meghpara, MD, said at Hawaiian Eye 2023.
“Interferon was my drop of choice because it’s so well tolerated, but Merck has decided to stop producing it, so that’s not an option anymore,” Meghpara said. “So, 5-FU is this underrated medication that I think a lot of us haven't used in a while because of interferon, but now, it's kind of getting a resurgence.”
Meghpara cycles treatment, dosing patients daily for a week then letting a set number of weeks elapse before the next treatment cycle.
Improvement may be seen after just one treatment cycle, he said.
“We tell patients they’re going to need multiple cycles,” he said. “Usually, I'll treat maybe for an additional cycle after I think it's gone, just to confirm, or hopefully reduce the chance of having a recurrence,” Meghpara said.
OCT is used to confirm that no further treatment cycles are needed.
Editor's note: On Jan. 20, 2023, this article was updated to change “intracameral 5-fluorouracil” to “topical 5-fluorouracil.”
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Corneal case presentations. Presented at: Hawaiian Eye 2023; Jan. 14-20, 2023; Koloa, Hawaii.
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