Choroidal melanoma
"With epiescleral brachytherapy, local control of the disease is achieved in the majority of cases that are susceptible to being treated by means of conservative treatment".
DR. SARA LLORENTE GONZÁLEZ
SPECIALIST. OPHTHALMOLOGY DEPARTMENT
What is choroidal melanoma?
Choroidal melanoma is a malignant tumour that develops in the choroid, the layer of the eye just behind the retina. Fortunately, in the vast majority of patients, the tumour is located exclusively in the eye.
However, as it is a malignant tumour, after treatment, it is necessary to carry out a personalised follow-up for years to monitor the evolution of the disease.
At the Clínica Universidad de Navarra Cancer Centre, we have advanced technology to diagnose the disease, such as wide-field fundus cameras, optical coherence tomography (OCT) with angioOCT, as well as autofluorescence and ophthalmic ultrasound with the possibility of performing ultrasonic biomicroscopy (UBM) for diagnosis and follow-up.
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What are the symptoms of choroidal melanoma?
- Decreased visual acuity: Progressive or sudden loss of vision, especially if it affects the macula.
- Perception of floaters (myodesopsias): Dark spots in movement caused by haemorrhages or changes in the vitreous.
- Flashes of light (photopsias): Flashes of light due to retinal traction or retinal detachment.
- Loss of visual field: blocked areas of vision, depending on the location of the tumour.
- Metamorphopsia: Distortion in the shape or size of objects if the macula is affected.
- Eye pain: Present in advanced cases with secondary glaucoma.
- Total loss of vision: In advanced stages due to retinal detachment or tumour invasion.
Do you have any of these symptoms?
If you suspect that you have any of the above symptoms,
you should consult a medical specialist for a diagnosis.
How is choroidal melanoma diagnosed?
Choroidal melanoma can be diagnosed in a routine examination of the fundus of the eye, before it produces any visual symptoms.
If a lesion is ophthalmoscopically suspicious for melanoma, an exhaustive ophthalmological examination should be performed, as well as complementary tests.
How is choroidal melanoma treated?
In many cases, treatment can be carried out by means of radiotherapy that allows the affected eyeball to be preserved, and the epiescleral brachytherapy or proton therapy can be used.
Episcleral brachytherapy (external photon-based radiation therapy) consists of placing, under local anesthesia, a plate with radioactive seeds on the wall of the eyeball and allowing those seeds to act on the precise location of the tumor for the time that the radiation oncologists have calculated for each case. Once this time has elapsed, and also under local anesthesia, the plate is removed. Sometimes, it may be necessary to associate other treatments such as transpupillary thermotherapy.
Sometimes, the best option is the removal of the tumor along with the eye. In these circumstances, in the Clinic it will be possible to carry out at the same time the placement of an internal prosthesis with similar mobility to that of the eye that will allow, in the future, that this operation passes completely unnoticed.
Where do we treat it?
IN NAVARRA AND MADRID
The Department of Ophthalmology
of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra
Equipped with the latest technology, the Department of Ophthalmology has the necessary equipment, both technical and human, to offer comprehensive and specific assistance to each patient.
We are one of the few centers that have a microsurgery laboratory for the improvement of clinical practice.
Organized in specialized units
- Cornea and eye surface
- Retina
- General Ophthalmology
- Refraction defects
- Oculoplastic
- Pediatric ophthalmology
Why at the Clinica?
- More than 30 years of experience.
- Experts in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular pathologies.
- With the security and guarantee of a prestigious hospital.
Our expert choroidal melanoma team
