2Fondazione Policlinico Universitario
3Fondazione Policlinico Universitario
4Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Istituto di Radiologia, Rome-Italy
5Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Istituto di Oftalmologia, Rome-Italy
6Fondazione Policlinico Universitario
7Fondazione Policlinico Universitario DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2020.2175 OBJECTIVE
This study aims to evaluate if a disease thickness cut-off of 5 mm can be considered the best choice to select gamma emitter sources, as 125I, for the treatment of uveal melanomas.
METHODS
The records of patients affected by primary uveal melanoma and treated in our institutional IOC (Interventional
Oncology Center) from December 2006 to December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed.
Only patients with a disease thickness between 4 mm and 6 mm treated with 106Ru or 125I plaque were
considered for this analysis.
RESULTS
Between December 2006 and December 2016, 107 patients (107 eyes) with UM received brachytherapy
treatment with tumor thickness between 4 and 6 mm. Nine patients developed local recurrence while
seven patients had distant metastases. No statistically significant difference (p=0.36) was observed between
the two groups (125I versus 106Ru) concerning DFS. Five patients treated with 125I (19.2%) experienced
radiation maculopathy; this finding is noteworthy because this toxicity was experienced by 21
patients treated with 106Ru (25.9%).
CONCLUSION
In this study, we report that the use of 125I seeds for UM with a thickness between 5 mm and 6 mm is
not associated with a statistically significant increased risk of radiation maculopathy. It is desirable that
further multicentric investigations may help to confirm the results of our study.