title: Treatment choice and quality of life in patients with choroidal melanoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if quality of life differs between patients with choroidal melanoma treated with enucleation and those treated with radiation therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients treated for choroidal melanoma at 5 Midwest centers were asked to participate. There were 65 participants treated with enucleation and 82 treated with radiation therapy. Quality of life was assessed using the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 and the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire and by the Time-Tradeoff interview method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average length of follow-up was 4.9 years for the group treated with radiation therapy and 6.3 years for the group treated with enucleation (P = .05). After adjusting for age, sex, years of follow-up, and the number of chronic conditions, there were few differences in any of the quality-of-life measures by treatment status. Participants in the group treated with radiation therapy were more likely to have higher (better) scores on the Vitality and Mental Component subscales of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 than participants treated with enucleation. There were no differences on the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire or the Time-Tradeoff measures of quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Choice of treatment for choroidal melanoma does not seem to be associated with large differences in quality of life in long-term follow-up.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53705-2397, USA.
authors: K J
authors: KJ
authors: Cruickshanks
authors: D G
authors: DG
authors: Fryback
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Nondahl
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Robinson
authors: U
authors: U
authors: Keesey
authors: D S
authors: DS
authors: Dalton
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Robertson
authors: S R
authors: SR
authors: Chandra
authors: W F
authors: WF
authors: Mieler
authors: Z N
authors: ZN
authors: Zakov
authors: P L
authors: PL
authors: Custer
authors: L V
authors: LV
authors: Del Priore
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Albert
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001918:Brachytherapy; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015996:Survival Rate; D014792:Visual Acuity