Abstract
Purpose::
To report the results of the combination therapy of simultaneous hyperthermia by transpupillary thermotherapy and indocyanine green-based photodynamic therapy is an effective treatment for small and medium choroidal melanomas.
Methods::
Thirty three patients with small and medium choroidal melanomas were treated with combined simultaneous transpupillary thermotherapy and indocyanine green-based photodynamic therapy.
Results::
The median age of the 33 patients was 64 years (range 35 to 88 years). The pretreatment volume of the tumors ranged from 13.6 to 764.5 mm3 (mean, 123.6 +/- 106.2 mm3). After a mean of 2.1 treatments (range, 1 to 5 treatments), 70% of the tumors showed a significant volume reduction, 30% of the tumors showed stabilization in size, all of them without clinical evidence of recurrences. The follow-up ranged from 7 to 75 months (mean, 36 +/- 19 months). Complications included retinal vascular occlusions, edema and superficial scarring of the macula, and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.
Conclusions::
The effects of combined simultaneous transpupillary thermotherapy and indocyanine green-based photodynamic therapy appears to be effective in achieving local tumor control in selected small and medium choroidal melanomas.
Keywords: choroid • melanoma • photodynamic therapy