[Choroidal melanoma: current therapeutic approaches]

The management of posterior uveal melanoma has evolved tremendously over the past decades and more recently there has been a trend toward more focal conservative treatment. Transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) with infrared diode laser (810nm) is the newest modality used as primary treatment or as a complement to radiotherapy or surgical resection in selected cases of choroidal melanoma, Plaque radiotherapy or charged-particle irradiation is particularly recommended for medium- or small-sized uveal melanoma not suitable to TTT or resection, Special custom-designed plaque radiotherapy (iodine-125) can be used for the iris and ciliary body, or in juxtapaillary choroidal melanoma. The tumor control rate after plaque or charged-particle radiotherapy appears to be similar but charged-particle irradiation may produce worse anterior-segment complications than plaque radiotherapy. Stereotactic radiation therapy for choroidal melanoma may be effective in controlling tumor growth, but the number of patients treated with this approach is too small to draw solid conclusions. Local tumor resection using trans-scleral resection is mainly suitable for selected iris, ciliary body, or anterior choroidal melanoma, particularly with smaller basal dimensions and greater thickness. Endoresection may preserve central vision or temporal field when radiotherapy would be expected to cause optic neuropathy. Longer follow-up is necessary to establish the efficacy of tumor control. Combined therapies (radiotherapy plus TTT or tumor resection plus 77) appear to be more effective in decreasing the incidence of intraocular tumor recurrence. Enucleation is still performed for large uveal melanoma when there is no hope of regaining useful vision. Based on the published ophthalmology literature, it seems that enucleation carries the same survival prognosis as each of the conservative treatment modalities.