Purpose: This retrospective study was undertaken to clarify the role of high energy external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and to determine its safety and efficacy on local control and visual acuity in patients suffering from choroidal metastases (CM).Materials and methods: The records of 58 consecutive patients treated with EBRT between 1970 and 1993 were analyzed. The female to male ratio was 2.9 and the median age was 59 years (range 40-81 years). Thirty-six patients (62%) had unilateral CM and 22 patients had bilateral CM. The mean number of lesions per eye was two. Retinal detachment was present in 65% of cases. The primary tumour (PT) was breast carcinoma for 38 patients (75%), lung carcinoma for 10 patients (17%) and gastrointestinal, genitourinary or unknown PT for the remaining 10 patients. The median interval of time between the PT and the CM was 55 months (range 0-228 months). All patients were treated with megavoltage irradiation. The median prescribed dose was 35.5 Gy (range 20-53 Gy) normalized at a 2 Gy per fraction schedule with an a/b value of 10 Gy. Various techniques were used and whenever possible the lens was spared. Ten patients with unilateral disease were treated in both eyes.Results: The tumour response was slow. When assessed after 3 months or more, the complete response rate was 53% with significantly better results for doses higher than 35.5 Gy (72 versus 33%; P = 0.009). Visual acuity was improved or stabilized in 62% of patients, with also significantly better results when doses higher than 35.5 Gy (P = 0.014) were administered. Amongst 26 patients with unilateral CM who had no elective contralateral irradiation, three developed metastasis in the opposite eye versus none of the 10 patients who had bilateral irradiation. Five complications occurred (three cataracts, one retinopathy and one glaucoma).Conclusion: Radiation therapy is an efficient and safe palliative treatment for choroidal metastases and it helps the preservation of vision. Thus, there is a major impact on the quality of life in a group of patients with an almost uniformly fatal prognosis. Both tumour response and visual acuity are significantly improved if doses higher than 35.5 Gy are administered. Whenever possible, a lens sparing technique should be used.

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A prospective trial was performed to better assess the risk of nausea and vomiting and the rescue value of tropisetron (TRO), a 5HT3 receptor antagonist, in 88 patients undergoing fractionated radiotherapy to the abdomen or to large supradiaphragmatic fields and failing a first anti-emetic trial with metoclopramide (MET). Nausea was graded 0 (absent), 1 (mild), 2 (moderate) and 3 (severe). Nausea requiring anti-emetics (L grade 2) was present in 64% of the patients. MET was able to control nausea (I grade 1) in 26 of 58 patients (45%) who developed 1 grade 2 nausea during radiation treatment (2 patients vomiting without nausea included). 34 patients required TRO, and 31 experienced immediate relief. However, nausea (1 grade 2) recurred in 7 patients from 1 to 3 weeks after starting, TRO. Sex, age, field type and field size (cm*) did not influence the incidence and severity of nausea and vomiting. Only 24188 patients vomited after starting radiotherapy. MET helped to eliminate emesis in one third of these patients. TRO helped to control vomiting in 73% of the salvaged patients. Constipation was observed in 8 patients on TRO and was a reason to stop the medication in 4 cases.

Successive chromatographic procedures made it possible to isolate thrombocytopoietin from the serum of thrombocytopenic rats. The following steps were taken: DEAE-cellulose phosphate chromatography, Sephadex chromatography, exclusion chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 gel. The apparent molecular weight of thrombocytopoietin was about 48,000 daltons. Like erythropoietin, thrombocytopoietin is a glycoprotein, its molecular weight is similar. A single form is obtained only when the different purification steps last less than 10 days. Beyond that time, partial degradation may occur.

This study demonstrates the feasibility of this schedule in a multicenter setting. The oncologic results appear similar to those obtained by other accelerated regimens, while the rate of late complications seems acceptable. Five-week accelerated regimens warrant further evaluation, particularly in conjunction with concomitant chemotherapy, in the framework of prospective trials.

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