Stereotactic radiotherapy of symptomatic circumscribed choroidal hemangiomas

Purpose: To determine feasibility of low-dose stereotactic radiotherapy in the treatment of symptomatic circumscribed choroidal hemangioma. Design: Prospective, noncomparative, interventional case series. Participants: Five consecutive patients with perifoveolar and peripapillary circumscribed choroidal hemangioma and visual symptoms from exudative retinal detachment. Methods: A dose of 20 Gy was delivered stereotactically with linear accelerator. Tumor dimensions were determined by B-scan ultrasonography. Main Outcome Measures: Resolution of subretinal fluid, best-corrected visual acuity, and reduction in tumor height. Results: Median tumor height at baseline was 2.8 mm (range, 2.0-4.2 mm). Two tumors were subfoveolar, two were juxtafoveolar, and one was extrafoveolar. Cystic macular edema and subretinal fibrosis were present in both eyes with subfoveolar tumor. Exudative retinal detachment resolved within a median of 5 months (response rate, 100%; 95% Cl, 48%-100%). Median best-corrected visual acuity was 20/50 (range, 20/22-20/ 100) at diagnosis and 20/25 (range, 20/20-20/60) 20 months after treatment. Tumor height had decreased a median of 24% (range, 0%-31 %) by 6 months and 29% (range, 9%-59%) by 20 months. Secondary retinal pigment epithelial mottling associated with tumor regression occurred in two patients. One eye developed a paracentral scotoma. Conclusions: Stereotactic radiotherapy can be targeted precisely enough to induce regression of subretinal fluid from circumscribed choroidal hemangiomas. (C) 2003 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.