Uveal Melanoma with Thickness between 4 and 6 mm Treated with two Different Radioisotopes (I125 or Ru106): Single Institution Experience

Abstract

OBJECTIVEThis study aims to evaluate if a disease thickness cut-off of 5 mm can be considered the best choice toselect gamma emitter sources, as 125I, for the treatment of uveal melanomas.METHODSThe records of patients affected by primary uveal melanoma and treated in our institutional IOC (InterventionalOncology 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 wereconsidered for this analysis.RESULTSBetween December 2006 and December 2016, 107 patients (107 eyes) with UM received brachytherapytreatment with tumor thickness between 4 and 6 mm. Nine patients developed local recurrence whileseven patients had distant metastases. No statistically significant difference (p=0.36) was observed betweenthe two groups (125I versus 106Ru) concerning DFS. Five patients treated with 125I (19.2%) experiencedradiation maculopathy; this finding is noteworthy because this toxicity was experienced by 21patients treated with 106Ru (25.9%).CONCLUSIONIn this study, we report that the use of 125I seeds for UM with a thickness between 5 mm and 6 mm isnot associated with a statistically significant increased risk of radiation maculopathy. It is desirable thatfurther multicentric investigations may help to confirm the results of our study.