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Eye Plaque
Brachytherapy
Eye plaque brachytherapy is used to treat choroidal melanoma which is a
primary cancer of the eye. Choroidal melanoma is diagnosed during an eye
examination by an ophthalmologist and is recognized by its color, shape and
location. Most of these tumors enlarge slowly over time and lead to loss of
vision. These tumors can spread to other parts of the body and can lead to
death.Enucleation, or removal of the eye, has long been a treatment for these tumors. During the past 20 years, radiation has been used to treat small to medium choroidal melanomas. Radiation is intended to eliminate growing tumor cells without causing damage to normal tissue and thus saves patients from enucleation. As the cells die the tumor shrinks, but it usually doe not disappear entirely.
The most promising method for irradiating medium sized choroidal melanoma involves constructing a small plaque with radioactive iodine seeds glued to one side. For placement of a radioactive plaque, the patient is brought to surgery and under local or general anesthesia, an incision is made in the conjunctiva, a thin membrane which covers the outside of the eye. This allows the radioactive plaque to be stitched to the outside of the eye over the tumor. The plaque is left in place for several days. The patient is often allowed to go home during this time and returns to surgery for removal of the plaque.
When radioactive plaque therapy is successful, the tumor stops growing and may shrink over the course of 6 to 12 months. The patient keeps the eye and, in favorable circumstances, when the tumor responds well and is located away from the optic nerve, the tumor is destroyed and the patient's vision is spared. Radiation Oncology Associates is the only group of Radiation Oncologists performing this procedure in New Mexico.