Brachytherapy in orbital tumors.

Abstract

To evaluate whether the use of iridium-192 brachytherapy would reduce the incidence of complications noted with external beam radiation therapy in patients with orbital tumors. This study is a retrospective review of a clinical series of 25 patients with various orbital tumors treated with brachytherapy between 1988 and 1995. Patients were observed for an average of 40 months (range, 16-88 months) during which one patient died of metastatic disease and 24 patients are alive with no evidence of disease. Recurrent disease was observed in four patients. In 3 patients, exenteration was necessary and in 22 patients, the eye was preserved. The visual acuities after therapy ranged from no light perception to 20/20 (average, 20/40). Since brachytherapy has been used as an alternative to exenteration, the results of this treatment have been excellent in most patients. However, in advanced disease, external radiation therapy or even mutilating surgery still remains inevitable.