¹⁰⁶Ruthenium plaque therapy (RPT) for retinoblastoma

To evaluate the effectiveness of episcleral ¹⁰⁶ruthenium plaque therapy (RPT) in the management of retinoblastoma.

One hundred one RPTs were retrospectively analyzed that were performed in 90 eyes of 85 patients with retinoblastoma at National Cancer Center Hospital between 1998 and 2008. Each RPT had a corresponding tumor and 101 tumors were considered in the analysis of local control. Median follow-up length was 72.8 months. Median patient age at the RPT was 28 months. Median prescribed doses at reference depth and outer surface of the sclera were 47.4 Gy and 162.3 Gy, respectively.

Local control rate (LCR) and ocular retention rate (ORR) at 2 years were 33.7% and 58.7%, respectively. Unilateral disease, International Classification of Retinoblastoma group C or more advanced at the first presentation or at the time of RPT, vitreous and/or subretinal seeding, tumor size greater than 5 disc diameter (DD), reference depth greater than 5 mm, dose rate at reference depth lower than 0.7 Gy/hour, dose at the reference depth lower than 35 Gy, and (biologically effective dose with an α/β ratio of 10 Gy) at the reference depth lower than 40 Gy(10) were associated with unfavorable LCR. Two patients died of metastatic disease. Radiation complications included retinal detachment in 12 eyes (13.3%), proliferative retinopathy in 6 (6.7%), rubeosis iris in 2 (2.2%), and posterior subcapsular cataract in 23 (25.6%).

RPT is an effective eye-preserving treatment for retinoblastoma.