Treatment of Eye Cancer in Germany

With timely treatment, eye cancer can be successfully cured in Germany in most patients. Surgery, laser procedures, brachytherapy, and external beam radiation therapy are used to remove and destroy tumors. The specialized German centers carry out proton therapy, the safest external beam radiation therapy method for eye neoplasms. Doctors strive to avoid surgical removal of the eyeball. In most cases, they can cure the disease while preserving the patient's vision.

Content

1. What is eye cancer
2. Eye surgery
3. Radiation therapy
4. Laser treatment
5. Drug therapy
6. Why is it worth undergoing eye cancer treatment in Germany

What is eye cancer

Eye cancer is called malignant tumors of various origins that grow from different tissues and organs. They can develop in orbit, adnexal structures of the eye (eyelids, lacrimal glands), or the eyeball itself.

Two tumors most often develop directly in the eyeball: melanoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The most common tumor in children is retinoblastoma, and medulloepithelioma is less common.

Sometimes metastatic tumors are detected in the eyeball. Lung and breast cancer most often metastasizes there.

Melanoma most often appears on the choroid. It is called uveal. About 90% of tumors are localized in the choroid tissue or the ciliary body. Sometimes melanoma develops in the iris of the eye. Less common is conjunctival melanoma – it grows from the conjunctiva.

Neoplasms are classified not only by stage but also by size. A tumor up to 3 mm in height and 1,6 mm in width is considered small; up to 8 mm in height and 1,6 mm in width is medium, while more than these figures are large tumors.

The tumors near the eyeball are usually represented by skin cancer: squamous and basal cell carcinoma. Less common is rhabdomyosarcoma, which grows from the eye muscles, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Eye surgery

The definitive treatment for eye cancer is surgery. However, due to the emergence of effective and safe radiation therapy options, which can also cure cancer while preserving vision, surgery is not used as much as it used to be.

The operations are different depending on the location and size of the tumor:

• Iridectomy is the removal of part of the iris. It is carried out at the early stage of cancer.
• Iridotrabeculectomy is the resection of the iris with the outer part of the eyeball. The operation is performed in the case of a small melanoma.
• Iridocyclectomy is the removal of part of the iris with the ciliary body.
• Transscleral resection is the removal of the ciliary body or choroid. This removal is a complex operation that must be performed in a specialized center. An unsuccessful operation entails serious vision problems.
• Eyeball enucleation is an organ-removing operation that is performed for advanced cancer. An implant is placed instead of an eye, but with its help, a person cannot see. The implant performs only an aesthetic function. It is attached to the muscles that rotate the eyeball, so the implant moves in sync with the second eye.
• Orbital exenteration is a traumatic operation to remove the eyeball and surrounding tissues. It can remove the eyelid, muscles, nerve endings, blood vessels, and other tissues inside the orbit.

In Germany, doctors try to cure cancer with sparing operations, saving the patient's eye, and preserving visual function as much as possible. The cost of eyeball removal (enucleation) for eye cancer ranges between 6,400 EUR and 11,800 EUR.

Radiation therapy

To treat eye cancer, doctors use not only external beam radiation therapy, but also brachytherapy.

Brachytherapy involves the contact irradiation of the tumor with radioactive material placed inside the eye. The operation requires inserting the ophthalmic applicator, and then another one to remove it a few days later. Nonetheless, this is a safer radiation therapy option than external beam radiation therapy, since the beams do not pass through healthy tissues on their way to the tumor. The radiation given by radioactive seeds implanted into the eye is very short. At the same time, brachytherapy is very effective: patients with eye cancer have the same survival rates as after eyeball enucleation. More than 90% of patients are completely cured of cancer, provided that the procedure is performed to destroy small to medium-sized tumors.

External beam radiation therapy is used for large tumors. In the case of eye cancer, the most accurate and safest radiation treatments are required to avoid complications. Doctors in Germany often use proton therapy. Protons, unlike photons, practically do not emit radiation on their way to the target but release energy inside the tumor. Proton therapy is especially recommended for patients with eye tumors near the optic nerve.

Stereotactic radiosurgery can be used for eye tumors as well. CyberKnife or Clinac devices irradiate cancer from different angles. The treatment method causes post-radiation complications more often than proton therapy, but the cost of cancer treatment is lower.

Laser treatment

Laser procedures are more sparing than surgery, but their possibilities are limited. The following procedures can be used:

Transpupillary thermotherapy is the destruction of the tumor by heating it with infrared light. It is used only in the early stages of the disease. The risk of recurrence is higher than after radiation therapy or surgery. The procedure sometimes causes complications, such as bleeding, retinal detachment, and blood vessel thrombosis. It can sometimes be an adjuvant treatment after brachytherapy for eye cancer.

Laser photocoagulation can be performed only in the early stage of eye cancer. The tumor is burned with a laser. The procedure is not used for large tumors due to the high risk of complications.

Drug therapy

Chemotherapy is not very effective for eye cancer. Therefore, it is usually used in cases where targeted or immunotherapy does not work.

In the case of metastatic uveal melanoma, a bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) is used. Once this drug is administered, it attaches to T cells and melanoma cells, allowing the immune system to attack the tumor more effectively. 

Another option for immunotherapy is checkpoint inhibitors. They reduce the ability of the tumor to evade the immune response.

In the case of epithelial eye tumors with BRAF gene mutations, drugs for targeted therapy aimed at this protein are used. Less commonly, these drugs are used for uveal melanoma, as only 5% of these tumors have BRAF mutations.

Why is it worth undergoing eye cancer treatment in Germany

Germany offers highly developed medicine. The country employs ophthalmologists and oncologists with high reputability all over the world. The country uses advanced methods of cancer treatment, which are not yet available or are of limited use in most other countries.

There are a few reasons for you to go to Germany for eye cancer treatment:

• most cases of oncological diseases are cured here;
• with timely detection, more than 90% of treated patients can save their vision and get rid of the malignant tumor forever;
• safe use of brachytherapy;
• proton therapy is used for external irradiation of eye tumors;
• complex high-tech operations with minimal risk of complications;
• the use of the very latest targeted therapy and immunotherapy methods for metastatic cancer.

To undergo eye cancer treatment in Germany, you are welcome to use the Booking Health service. On our website, you can get up-to-date and accurate information about the cost of treatment in Germany, compare prices in different German hospitals and book a medical care program at a favorable price. The treatment will be easier and faster for you, and the cost of treatment in Germany will be lower.

Please leave your request on the website of the Booking Health medical tourism operator. Our employee will contact you, hold a consultation, and answer your questions. We will take care of the organization of your trip abroad. We will provide the following benefits for you:

• We will select a German hospital whose doctors specialize in eye cancer treatment and achieve the best results.
• We will help you overcome the language barrier and establish contact with a doctor in the German hospital.
• The waiting period for medical diagnosis and treatment will be reduced for you, and you will receive medical care on the most suitable dates.
• We will reduce the price. The cost of treatment in Germany will be lower than usual due to the lack of overpricing and additional coefficients for foreign patients.
• Our specialists will solve any organizational issues: paperwork, transfer from the airport to the German hospital and back, hotel booking, and interpreting services.
• We will prepare your documents and translate them into English or German. You do not have to undergo previously performed diagnostic procedures.
• We will keep in touch with the German hospital after the completion of treatment.
• We will arrange additional medical examinations and treatment if required.
• We will buy medicines in another country and forward them to your native country.

While the best specialists in the world take care of your health, the Booking Health staff will help reduce the cost of treatment in Germany and take care of all your travel arrangements.

Authors:

The article was edited by medical experts, board certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova and Dr. Farrukh Ahmed. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!

Sources:

National Cancer Institute

Cancer Support Community

MedicineNet