Treatment of eye melanoma Te maimoatanga me te Tonapuku Karu

How is eye melanoma treated?

Eye melanoma can be treated with:

• radiation treatment
• surgery
• transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT)
• cryotherapy
• chemotherapy eye drops
• photodynamic therapy (PDT)

Before any treatment begins, make sure that you have discussed and understood your treatment team's advice. You may ask for a second opinion if you want one.

Radiation for eye melanoma

Radiation treatment is the use of radiation high energy beams to destroy cancer cells or slow their growth.

External radiation

For uveal melanoma, you may have a specific form of external radiation treatment called stereotactic radiation. This may be the only treatment you need, or it may be given with other treatments.

Internal radiation

Internal radiation, also called brachytherapy, is when a radiation source is placed into the body close to the cancer.

A small radioactive disc is placed over the melanoma in the eye during an operation. The disc stays in place for about four days until the total dose of radiation has been given.

Surgery for eye melanoma

The type of surgery you have depends on the size and position of the melanoma in your eye. It may involve just the melanoma, a small part of the eye, or sometimes the whole eye.

For conjunctival melanoma, surgery is used to remove the tumour from the surface of the eye.

For uveal melanoma, if the cancer is large or in a difficult position, sometimes you will need a larger operation to remove your eye and nearby tissue.

The removal of your eye (enucleation) is not common, and the surgeon will always try to preserve your eye. If you have this surgery, you may have a false eye (prosthesis) made.

Any type of surgery can be frightening.

Other treatments for eye melanoma

Other treatments may be used to prevent the cancer from returning. This includes:

Transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT)
Under local anaesthetic a laser beam is used to destroy the cancer cells by heating them.

Cryotherapy
The area is frozen to kill any cancer cells left following surgery.

Chemotherapy eye drops
Topical cytotoxic eye drops maybe be given for conjunctival melanoma to destroy the cancer cells.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
Most commonly used to treat cancers that have spread to the eye, or some non-cancerous eye conditions. The treatment uses a laser combined with a light-sensitive drug to destroy cancer cells.