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Karen J. Cruickshanks, PhD; Dennis G. Fryback, PhD; David M. Nondahl, MS; Nancy Robinson, AB; Ulker Keesey, PhD; Dayna S. Dalton, MS; Dennis M. Robertson, MD; Suresh R. Chandra, MD; William F. Mieler, MD; Z. Nicholas Zakov, MD; Philip L. Custer, MD; Lucian V. Del Priore, MD, PhD; Daniel M. Albert, MD

Arch Ophthalmol. 1999;117:461-467.

Objective  To determine if quality of life differs between patients with choroidal melanoma treated with enucleation and those treated with radiation therapy.

Materials and Methods  Patients treated for choroidal melanoma at 5 Midwest centers were asked to participate. There were 65 participants treated with enucleation and 82 treated with radiation therapy. Quality of life was assessed using the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 and the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire and by the Time-Tradeoff interview method.

Results  The average length of follow-up was 4.9 years for the group treated with radiation therapy and 6.3 years for the group treated with enucleation (P=.05). After adjusting for age, sex, years of follow-up, and the number of chronic conditions, there were few differences in any of the quality-of-life measures by treatment status. Participants in the group treated with radiation therapy were more likely to have higher (better) scores on the Vitality and Mental Component subscales of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 than participants treated with enucleation. There were no differences on the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire or the Time-Tradeoff measures of quality of life.

Conclusion  Choice of treatment for choroidal melanoma does not seem to be associated with large differences in quality of life in long-term follow-up.

From the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (Drs Cruickshanks, Keesey, Chandra, and Albert, Mr Nondahl, and Mss Robinson and Dalton); and Preventive Medicine (Dr Fryback), University of Wisconsin, Madison; the Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Foundation, Eye Institute, Rochester, Minn (Dr Robertson); the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (Dr Mieler); Retina Associates of Cleveland, Beachwood, Ohio (Dr Zakov); and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mo (Drs Custer and Del Priore).

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