Ocular Melanoma and Eye Tumor Program

Overview

The Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology is one of the few centers in the world with a proton beam line dedicated to treat ocular melanomas and other tumors of the eye. Evaluation, radiation planning, and treatment of ocular disease patients are performed in close collaboration with the retinal service at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. Our radiation oncologists are dedicated to preserving the eye and its normal function.

State-of-the-Art Therapies

• Proton Eye Program: A dedicated and specialized service that relies primarily on the use of the proton eye line (hardware) system located at Proton Therapy Center. Proton therapy achieves a high tumor control rate, high eye preservation rate, and a reasonably high visual preservation rate with some useful vision retained in most patients.
• Linear Accelerator Based Therapy: Not every patient requires proton therapy for optimal care. Appropriate diagnostic studies and an evaluation by an ocular specialist are required to determine the best course of therapy. In many cases, we effectively treat patients with innovative 3D conformal radiation techniques, such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT).

Personalized & Comprehensive Care

The Mass General Radiation Oncologists collaborate with the patient’s entire cancer team which may include medical oncologists and surgical oncologists. We also have a unique, close collaboration with the team at Massachusetts Eye and Ear to provide comprehensive and individualized care for our patients.

Clinical Trials

Massachusetts General Hospital invites patients and the community to participate in innovative clinical trials and research studies.

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