Analysis of patient outcomes following proton radiation therapy for retinoblastoma

Purpose: Proton radiation therapy (PRT) is used to treat patients with retinoblastoma (RB) and has the potential to minimize exposure of normal tissue to radiation and thus decrease the risk of toxicity and second malignancies. However, comprehensive analyses of long-term patient outcomes are not available. Methods and materials: Patients with RB who were treated with PRT at our institution between 1986 and 2012 were invited to participate in a study that was designed to assess long-term outcomes. Patients who were enrolled in the study underwent a comprehensive analysis that included oncologic, ophthalmic, endocrine, cephalometric, and quality of life (QOL) assessments. Results: A total of 12 patients were enrolled in this study. The average length of follow-up was 12.9 years (range, 4.8-22.2 years). All study patients had bilateral disease, and the disease and visual outcomes were similar to the outcomes for all patients with RB who were treated with PRT over the same time period at our institution. An analysis of endocrine-related test results revealed no growth abnormalities or hormonal deficiencies across the cohort. Magnetic resonance imaging scans and external cephalometry showed that PRT was associated with less facial hypoplasia than enucleation. Patient and parent-proxy QOL assessments revealed that treatment for RB did not appear to severely affect long-term QOL. Conclusions: In addition to providing an opportunity for long-term disease control and functional eye preservation, PRT does not appear to be associated with unexpected late visual, endocrine, or QOL effects in this cohort of patients with RB

Suppression of Neovascularization by Topical and Subconjunctival Bevacizumab After High-Risk Corneal Transplantation

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of topical and subconjunctival bevacizumab in suppressing vascularization in graft and host bed after high-risk corneal transplantation. Design: Secondary analysis of prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentric clinical trial. Participants: The study includes patients aged > 18 years who underwent high-risk penetrating keratoplasty, which was defined as corneal vascularization in ≥ 1 quadrants of the corneal graft and host bed, excluding the limbus. Methods: Patients were randomized to treatment and control groups. The patients in the treatment group received subconjunctival injection of bevacizumab (2.5 mg/0.1 ml) on the day of the procedure, followed by topical bevacizumab (10 mg/ml) 4 times per day for 4 weeks. The patients in control group received injection of vehicle (0.9% sodium chloride) on the day of procedure, followed by topical vehicle (carboxymethylcellulose sodium 1%) 4 times a day for 4 weeks. Main Outcome Measures: Vessel and invasion area of vessels in the corneal graft and host beds. Results: This study included 56 eyes of 56 patients who underwent high-risk corneal transplantation, with equal numbers in the bevacizumab and vehicle (control) treatment groups. The mean age of patients who received bevacizumab was 61.2 ± 15.9 years, and the mean age of those treated with vehicle was 60.0 ± 16.1 years. The vessel area at baseline was comparable in the bevacizumab (16.72% ± 3.19%) and control groups (15.48% ± 3.12%; P = 0.72). Similarly, the invasion areas were also similar in the treatment (35.60% ± 2.47%) and control (34.23% ± 2.64%; P = 0.9) groups at baseline. The reduction in vessel area was significantly higher in the bevacizumab-treated group (83.7%) over a period of 52 weeks compared with the control group (61.5%; P < 0.0001). In the bevacizumab-treated group, invasion area was reduced by 75.8% as compared with 46.5% in the control group. The vessel area was similar at 52 weeks postprocedure in cases of first (3.54% ± 1.21%) and repeat (3.80% ± 0.40%) corneal transplantation in patients who received bevacizumab treatment. In the vehicle-treated patients, the vessel area was significantly higher in repeat (9.76% ± 0.32%) compared with first (8.06% ± 1.02%; P < 0.0001) penetrating keratoplasty. In the bevacizumab treatment group, invasion areas at week 52 were comparable in first (11.70% ± 3.38%) and repeat (11.64% ± 1.74%) procedures, whereas invasion area was significantly higher in repeat (27.87% ± 2.57%) as compared with first (24.11% ± 2.17%) penetrating keratoplasty in vehicle-treated patients. Conclusions: In patients undergoing vascularized high-risk corneal transplantation, bevacizumab is efficacious in reducing vascularization of corneal graft and host bed, thereby reducing the risk of corneal graft rejection in vascularized host beds. Financial Disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article