Radiation retinopathy: preserving vision in ocular melanoma treatment
Half of patients going through treatment experience vision loss of 20/200 or more, says UCI Health expert
IN THE NEWS: Radiation retinopathy is one of the challenges of treating ocular melanoma, also known as uveal melanoma. The retinal damage that frequently occurs is very resistant to treatment.
Dr. Kapil Mishra, an ophthalmologist at the UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, recently spoke with the Ophthalmology Times about the need to find ways to preserve vision in patients with the condition.
“When it comes to treatment for uveal melanoma, we've done a great job in terms of globe salvation, which hopefully leads to life salvation, just in the sense that our treatments have been very effective in local tumor control. The third portion is really in terms of vision, which unfortunately has taken a back seat to these others.”
Mishra noted that half of patients who undergo radiation for uveal melanoma have vision loss of 20/200 or more, according to the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study.
"There's a lot of space to be able to improve those odds with current treatments and future strategies.”
Mishra is also an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.
He created the plaque brachytherapy program for uveal melanoma in coordination with colleagues at the school’s Department of Radiation Oncology. His research focuses on big data in vitreoretinal diseases, ocular oncology pathology and global health ophthalmology initiatives.
Make an appointment at the UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute by calling 949-824-2020.
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,317-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, its flagship hospital in Orange, Calif., the UCI Health — Irvine medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and a network of ambulatory care centers across the region. UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to the only Orange County-based National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves nearly 5.7 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).