title: Long term follow-up results of external beam radiotherapy as primary treatment for retinoblastoma.
abstract: The authors reviewed their experiences of external beam radiotherapy (EBR) as an initial treatment in retinoblastoma patients to determine its long-term effect on subsequent tumor control and complications. A total of 32 eyes in 25 patients that underwent EBR for retinoblastoma were reviewed retrospectively. The patients consisted of 21 boys and 4 girls of median age at treatment of 7.1 months. Radiation doses ranged from 35 to 59.4 Gy. The 10-yr ocular and patient survivals were 75.4% and 92.3%, respectively. Nine of the 32 eyes progressed; 7 of these were enucleated and 2 were salvaged by focal treatment. According to the Reese-Ellsworth classification, 4 of 5 eyes of Group II, 13 of 16 Group III eyes, 2 of 4 Group IV eyes, and 5 of 7 Group V eyes were retained, and of the 32 eyes, 13 had visual acuity better than 20/200. Eleven patients experienced a radiation-induced complication. No patient developed a second malignancy during follow-up. Despite the limited number of patients enrolled, EBR may provide a mean of preserving eyeball and vision for some advanced lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Yul
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Mi-Sook
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sungyul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Chulkoo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: YoungHoon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: KumBae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: YoungSeok
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Kyung Duk
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: JunAh
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tai-Won
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D019572:Retinal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012175:Retinoblastoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome