Abstract
Purpose :
Retinoblastoma is a radiosensitive tumor. However, treatment veered from external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) due to increased secondary tumors. Nevertheless, plaque brachytherapy remains an effective therapeutic tool for primary and recurrent retinoblastoma tumors. Here we describe our 28 years of experience with this treatment modality.
Methods :
A retrospective review of the medical records of children treated for retinoblastoma at the Hadassah Ocular Oncology Unit.
Results :
From 1994 to 2022, we treated 78 eyes of 74 children with Ru-106 plaque brachytherapy. 34 (46%) were girls , and 40 (54%) were boys. The mean age was 2.2 years (range from 3.5 months to 12.5 years, with a Standard Deviation of 2 years). 36 (46%) treatments were given to the right eye, and 42 (54%) treatments were given to the left eye. The most used plaque was CCA (62%). The average irradiation dose was 4,548 cGy to the apex and 23,930 cGy to the base. None of the treatments left a retinal scar at these low irradiation doses, as opposed to the retinal scarring after a total dose for uveal melanoma. In two of the children, the plaque was moved to cover more than one site in tandem. 37 (74%) were secondary treatments, and 20 (26%) of the treatments were primary. The local recurrence rates were 27% for the secondary and 20% for the primary treatments after a mean of 5.8 months in both groups.
Conclusions :
Ru-106 plaque brachytherapy is effective and safe for both primary and recurrent retinoblastoma.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.