Radiation therapy for uveal melanomas involving the ciliary body

Thirty-four patients with medium (2) or large (32) uveal melanomas which involved the ciliary body (ciliary-choroidal, ciliary, and iris-ciliary) were treated with helium ion (29) or I-125 brachytherapy (5). Thirty-one of 34 eyes were retained after treatment. Most melanomas were too large for surgical removal with retention of the eye. Eyes containing very large tumours often had poor visual acuity after treatment.