Malignant melanoma of the uvea

Since February 1984, patients suffering from uveal melanomas can be irradiated with protons (72 MeV) at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen/Switzerland. The selection and preparation of the 660 patients so far treated were carried out at the Lausanne University Eye Clinic. The irradiation is performed in four sessions on four consecutive days, the single dose being 1500 cGy and the total dose 6000 cGy. Sixty per cent of the patients improved or maintained their visual acuity. The rate of local progressions so far amounts to 2,9%. In more than 30% of the patients with a tumour width of more than 15 mm, death due to metastases occurred within five years. The superior functional results increasingly make proton irradiation therapy the method of choice and at the same time widen the indication for conservative treatment. In Europe, proton therapy of uveal melanoma is as of recently also possible in Uppsala and Liverpool. Further irradiation facilities are planned, including the Federal Republic of Germany. (orig.)