[Metastases of malignant extra-ocular tumors to the choroid. Diagnosis and fractionated radiotherapy].

A total of 161 cases of choroidal metastases are reviewed. Breast or bronchial carcinomas are the most frequent primary tumors. One-third of the patients develop bilateral choroidal metastases. In 67% of all cases metastatic choroidal lesions were found in the posterior pole. Eighty-nine percent of all patients had a history of malignant tumor, in 11% of all patients choroidal metastasis was the first sign of a primary carcinoma elsewhere in the body. Sixty percent of all patients with choroidal metastases had additional other distant metastases at the time of diagnosis of choroidal involvement. The survival rate is poor: 50% of all patients with choroidal metastasis had died 1 year later. In 35% of all patients, choroidal metastases occurred despite prior systemic therapy with cytotoxic drugs or hormone therapy. In many cases the spontaneously course leads to irreversible loss of central visual acuity due to tumor growth, tumor necrosis or the complications of an exudative retinal detachment. Early fractionated external beam in radiation may prevent this outcome. The clinical course in 71 eyes following irradiation is reported. In 80% radiation therapy led to regression or eradication of the tumor, and a vision of at least 0.4 was maintained in 61% of the treated eyes.