Ciliochoroidal melanomas treated with a narrow medical proton beam.

We treated 63 patients with intraocular melanomas by means of a narrow medical proton beam. Tumors were irradiated with 2,500 rad at each of four to five sessions, with an interval of one to two days between sessions. The melanomas ranged in diameter from 8 to 20 mm and were from 3.0 to 13.7 mm in thickness. Patients were followed up for three months to seven years. In 11 cases, the tumor was fully resorbed. Complications included radiation cataract, postradiation glaucoma, radiation retinopathy, and exudative retinal detachment. In 12 cases, enucleation was performed because tumor growth persisted. Four patients died during follow-up period because of metastasis. The eye was preserved in 47 cases.