Conditions: Macular Edema Cystoid Macular Edema Uveal Melanoma Radiation Maculopathy Radiation Retinopathy
Keywords: Plaque radiotherapy Brachytherapy Macular edema Cystoid macular edema Uveal melanoma Radiation maculopathy Radiation retinopathy Ozurdex Dexamethasone intravitreal implant
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 6
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of dexamethasone intravitreal implant (Ozurdex) and compare it with safety and efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab in eyes with macular edema after plaque radiotherapy of uveal melanoma.

Detailed description:
Plaque radiotherapy is a commonly used method for treatment of small and medium-sized uveal melanomas. Macular edema is one of the most common causes of visual loss after plaque radiotherapy and has been reported in up to 70% of patients with posterior uveal melanoma. Different methods have been proposed for treatment of post-radiation macular edema and include periocular steroid, intravitreal steroid, intravitreal vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors, photodynamic therapy, and macular laser photocoagulation.

Injection of intravitreal triamcinolone (a form of steroid) has been found to be useful for treatment of different forms of macular edema but is associated with considerable rates of increased intraocular pressure (glaucoma). Dexamethasone is more potent than triamcinolone and can be safely injected directly into the vitreous cavity (intravitreal injection) but unfortunately its use in the form of intravitreal injection is not practical due to the short half-life of intraocular dexamethasone (about 3 hours).

Within the past several years, tiny drug delivery systems have been developed that allow sustained release of minute amounts of steroid into the back part (vitreous cavity) of the eye, when they are implanted into the vitreous cavity. Ozurdex is a biodegradable dexamethasone intravitreal implant that has been shown to be well-tolerated and effective for up to 6 months in reducing vision loss and improving visual outcome in eyes with different types of macular edema including those secondary to diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion.

In this study the investigators would like to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Ozurdex (dexamethasone intravitreal implant) for treatment of macular edema developing after plaque radiotherapy of uveal melanoma.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients will be followed at 1 week after Ozurdex insertion (0.7 mg) and then at 1,2, 3,4, 5, and 6 months. Following the 6-month visit, patients will be seen every 2 months. At each visit patients will be checked for side effects of treatment, measurement of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), complete eye examination, fundus photography, and optical coherence tomography. Fluorescein angiography will be repeated at 6 and 12 months. Each eye in the Ozurdex group can have a maximum total of three Ozurdex insertions at minimum of 4-month intervals in the first year after enrolling into the study. arm 2: Patients will be followed at 1 week after the initial bevacizumab injection and then at 1,2, 3,4, 5, and 6 months after implant. Following the 6-month visit, the patients will be examined every 4-8 weeks depending on the status of their macular edema. At each visit patients will be checked for side effects of treatment, measurement of BCVA, complete eye examination, fundus photography, and optical coherence tomography. Fluorescein angiography will be repeated at 6 and 12 months. Eyes in the Bevacizumab group can have a maximum total of twelve (12) bevacizumab injections at minimum of 4-week intervals in the first year after enrolling into the study.

Interventions: intervention 1: Ozurdex intervention 2: Bevacizumab
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Eyes in the Ozurdex group can have a maximum total of three Ozurdex insertions in the first 12 months after enrolling into the study. The criteria for retreatment with Ozurdex are:

i.The study eye must have shown initial favorable response to prior Ozurdex implant (\>10% decrease in central macular thickness with maintenance \[change in BCVA of \<=1 line\] or improvement of visual acuity \[increase of BCVA of \>1 line\]) ii. Interval since last Ozurdex implant should be \> 4 and \< 12 months. iii. The study eye must show definite evidence of recurrence of macular edema. intervention 2: Eyes in the Bevacizumab group can have a maximum total of twelve bevacizumab injections in the first year after enrolling into the study. All patients will receive 6 monthly injections after entering the study. After the sixth injection (at month 5) the interval between injections will be extended to 6 weeks if the study eye has shown initial favorable response to prior intravitreal bevacizumab.

Protocol document: