Visual system toxicity following intra-arterial chemotherapy

We studied the effects of intra-arterial chemotherapy on the visual system of 29 consecutive patients with gliomas. As expected, infra-ophthalmic carotid infusion of cisplatin or carmustine (BCNU) was associated with clinically apparent anterior visual pathway lesions. Electroretinography revealed retinal dysfunction in patients without clinical abnormalities. Supra-ophthalmic carotid infusion of cisplatin or BCNU caused no retinal or optic nerve lesions. Electroretinography was abnormal in only one of these patients. Our results indicated that BCNU and cisplatin cause ischemic damage and are toxic to both retinal and neural tissue in patients with gliomas.