Palladium-103 plaque brachytherapy for retinoblastoma: Long term follow up

PURPOSE: Radiation has been used in the treatment of retinoblastoma. Herein, we present the novel use of palladium-103 plaque brachytherapy as primary treatment. OBSERVATION: An 8-year-old asymptomatic girl presented was found to have a solitary peripheral retinoblastoma in her right eye. She was treated with primary palladium-103 plaque brachytherapy (47.4 Gray over 5 consecutive days). A secondary, vitreous hemorrhage noted 46 months after irradiation was successfully controlled by laser tumor-demarcation. With 19-years follow up, there has been no clinical scleropathy, or local tumor recurrence. The eye yields 20/20 vision and there has been no systemic metastasis. CONCLUSION AND IMPORTANCE: Palladium-103 plaque brachytherapy successfully controlled retinoblastoma, while preserving the globe, vision, and life.