Long-term outcomes of eye-conserving treatment with Ruthenium106 brachytherapy for choroidal melanoma

Ruthenium-106 plaque brachytherapy for uveal melanoma

“…This is well in the range of local tumour control rates reported in the literature 21. Some authors describe excellent results with recurrence occurring in 3–4% of patients 6 12. Others report significantly higher recurrence rates up to 16% 11 22 23.…”

“…Other authors did not find any association between apex dose and tumour recurrence or secondary enucleation; however, dose rate might also play a role in this context 10 24. The use of combined brachytherapy and TTT for the treatment of melanomas >6 mm has also been described to increase tumour control, and TTT has also been used to reduce radiation dose in case of small tumours or in case of uncertain tumour regression after treatment 12. Using this approach, Verschueren et al 12 and Damato et al 6 achieved very high tumour control rates (about 96% and 98% 5 years after treatment).…”

Calculation of dose distributions for 12 106Ru/106Rh ophthalmic applicator models with the PENELOPE Monte Carlo code

“…[1][2][3] Factors that are relevant to the clinical outcome include the tumor dose coverage and the dose to the organs at risk, such as the optic nerve, the iris, and the fovea. Because this beta radiation produces steep dose gradients, an accurate knowledge of the generated dose distributions is essential for treatment planning and clinical dose assessment.…”

GDF-15: a novel serum marker for metastases in uveal melanoma patients

“…In most UM patients, local tumor control rates of greater than 90% can be achieved with various eye-preserving treatment modalities (e.g., surgery, radiotherapy, laser treatment) [2][3][4][5]. Despite this primary tumor-treatment success, the rate of metastases and death in UM patients has not changed over decades.…”