title: Radioactive plaque therapy for metastatic choroidal carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the outcome of radioactive episcleral plaque therapy for treatment of metastatic carcinoma to the choroid.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective, noncomparative case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five patients (six eyes) with carcinoma metastatic to the choroid.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review of the clinical records of five patients (six eyes) who underwent radioactive episcleral plaque therapy for choroidal metastases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tumor height, visual acuity, radiation optic neuropathy, and radiation retinopathy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Radioactive episcleral plaque therapy resulted in shrinkage of the treated tumors and resolution of subretinal fluid in all eyes. After plaque treatment, best-corrected visual acuity was maintained within two lines of initial visual acuity for two eyes, decreased more than two lines for one eye, and improved more than two lines in three eyes. The treatment was well tolerated and there was no acute toxicity. Late complications included optic nerve atrophy (at 2 years) with proliferative radiation retinopathy (at 3 years) in one eye and optic atrophy (at 6 months) in another eye that had received prior external beam therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In carefully selected cases, radioactive episcleral plaque therapy appears to be an effective and reasonable treatment for carcinoma metastatic to the choroid.
authors.affiliation: The Doheny Eye Institute, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Petrovich
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007496:Iridium Radioisotopes / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009896:Optic Atrophy / Q000209:etiology; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000528:radiation effects; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology; D012160:Retina / Q000528:radiation effects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D007496:Iridium Radioisotopes