103Pd versus 125I ophthalmic plaque brachytherapy: preoperative comparative radiation dosimetry for 319 uveal melanomas

Objective This study was conducted to compare the relative, clinical intraocular dose distribution for palladium-103 (103Pd) versus iodine-125 (125I) ophthalmic plaque radiation therapy. Methods Preoperative comparative radiation dosimetry was performed to evaluate 319 consecutive uveal melanomas treated between 2006 and 2012. Results There were 68 (21.3 %) anterior (iris and/or ciliary body) and 251 (78.7 %) choroidal melanomas examined in this study. According to AJCC staging, 7th edition, 146 (45.8 %) were T1, 126 (39.5 %) T2, 40 (12.5 %) T3, and 7 (2.2 %) T4. All were prescribed an equivalent tumor-apex dose. When compared to 125I, 103Pd was associated with a mean 41.9 % lower radiation dose to the opposite eye wall (p