Background Radiation‐induced scleral necrosis (RISN) is a rare, but a serious complication of brachytherapy for uveal melanoma. We aimed at analysing the incidence, timing and risk factors associated with development of RISN in a large institutional series. Methods All consecutive cases with brachytherapy for uveal melanoma treated by the Departments of Ophthalmology and Radiotherapy at University Hospital Essen between 1999 and 2016 were eligible. Development of RISN during the post‐treatment follow‐up was recorded. A 1:2 propensity score matched case–control study was performed for the evaluation of the prognostic value of different tumour‐ and treatment‐associated parameters. Results RISN was documented in 115 (2.9%) of 3960 patients with uveal melanoma included in the final analysis, and occurred at the mean 30.3 months (range: 1.26–226 months) after brachytherapy. In the whole cohort, younger age (p = 0.042), plaque type (p = 0.001) and ciliary body involvement (p < 0.0001) were independently associated with the RISN occurrence. In the case–control study, multivariable weighted proportional hazard analysis discovered the association of the following additional tumour‐ and treatment‐associated characteristics with RISN: posterior tumour margin anterior to equatorial region (p = 0.0003), extraocular tumour extension (p = <0.0001), scleral contact dose (p = <0.0001), conjunctival dehiscence after therapy (p = 0.0001), disinsertion of the superior rectus muscle (p = 0.001) and the glaucoma medication (p = 0.014). Conclusions Our study confirms RISN as a rare complication, which might occur even years later after the brachytherapy for uveal melanoma. Alongside with scleral dose five other tumour and therapy related factors predict the risk of RISN after brachytherapy for uveal melanoma were established.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The main objective of this prospective observational study was the characterization of the feasibility and early outcome of image-guided (IG) volumetric modulated arc (VMAT) radiosurgery (SRS) followed by resection for patients with large intraocular melanoma. Our study included consecutive patients with unfavorable-risk melanoma, enrolled in an ophthalmic oncology center. IG-VMAT-SRS was applied by high-resolution 4D image guidance and monitoring. Current stereotactic technique parameters were evaluated for comparison. Side effects and eye function, based on a 5-point CTC assessment score, were quantified. In patients with tumors located more than 0.7–1 mm apart from the optic nerve, partial to complete volume-sparing of the optic nerve head could be achieved. In 95.5% of this subgroup, the vitality of the optic nerve and vision could be preserved by the multimodality-treatment approach (mean follow-up: 18 months (7.5–36 months)). The advanced technology of stereotactic radiotherapy demonstrated the achievability of steep dose gradients around the high-dose volume, with 4D-IG-VMAT dose application. These results enforce IG-VMAT-SRS followed by resection as one of the major therapeutic options for patients with large intraocular melanoma. The combination of 4D-IG high-precision SRS and resection provides an effective treatment for large intraocular melanoma, with few side effects, and enables an eye bulb and even vision preserving modus operandi.

We assessed the long-term outcomes and treatment-related adverse effects of patients with Stage I, "orbital-type" lymphomas that were uniformly treated with photons. All consecutive patients diagnosed with low-grade, Ann Arbor Stage IEA orbital lymphoma treated between 1999 and 2020 at our department were retrospectively reviewed. We excluded patients with exclusive conjunctival involvement, typically treated with en face electrons. In order to quantify radiotherapy related side effects we applied the CTCAE criteria, analyzed changes in visual acuity, quantified dry eye symptoms by use of the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) score and applied the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire for quality of life (QoL) assessment. In total 66 eyes of 62 patients were irradiated with a median dose of 30.6 Gy. The median follow-up was 43.5 months. The predominant histological subtype were MALT lymphomas. No local failure occurred in this cohort. Of nine outfield relapses, six solely occurred in the contralateral eye. The 5-and 10-years distant progression free survival rates (PFS) were 81.4% and 63.5%. The 5-and 10years overall survival rates were 85.1% and 71.9% without any tumor related death.Of the acute toxicities none was higher than CTCAE grade 1. The predominant late toxicities were dry eyes (21.2%) of CTCAE Grade <2 and radiation induced cataracts (19.7%). During long-term follow up the average visual acuity did not deteriorate. The global QoL was worst before treatment and improved significantly after 24 months (p = 0.007). External beam radiotherapy of "orbital-type" lymphomas with photons is an effective and gentle treatment option with excellent local controlThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Objectives: Radiation-induced scleral necrosis (RISN) is a rare complication of brachytherapy for uveal melanoma, and may require surgical treatment in selected cases. We aimed to identify the prognostic factors for RISN treatment. Design: Retrospective, single-center, observational case series Methods: All patients with brachytherapy for uveal melanoma treated at our institution between 01/1999 and 12/2016 who developed RISN were followed until 02/2021. Various parameters were evaluated through univariable and multivariable Cox regression analysis. The surgical intervention due to RISN was the principal outcome event of this study. Results: Of 115 patients in the final cohort, 51 individuals (44.3%) underwent RISN treatment (conjunctival revision [n = 2], patching [n = 46] or enucleation [n = 3]) at median 1.80 months after RISN occurrence. Significant RISN characteristics were summarized into a novel RISN severity scale – Grade I: largest diameter ≤ 5mm and no progression; Grade II: largest diameter > 5mm or any progression during the follow-up; Grade III: presence of uveal prolapse; and Grade IV: leakage through open eyewall perforation. In the multivariable analysis, the RISN severity scale (aHR = 2.37 per grade increase, p = 0.005) and the time between brachytherapy and RISN occurrence (< 15 months, aHR = 6.33, p < 0.0001) were independently associated with the study endpoint. The RISN severity scale showed high diagnostic accuracy for prediction of RISN treatment (AUC = 0.869). Conclusions: In our series, about the half of RISN cases underwent surgical treatment. The presented novel severity scale for RISN might become a helpful tool for clinical management of individuals with RISN. We recommend external validation of the diagnostic accuracy of the presented scale.