Clinical study on ocular complications subsequent to radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract

AIM: To investigate the clinical features, characteristics of fundus fluorescein angiography(FFA)indocyanine green angiography(ICGA), risk factors, diagnostic methods and therapies of ocular complications subsequent to radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC). METHODS: Thirty-three patients(63 eyes)with hypopsia subsequent to radiotherapy of NPC admitted to Chenzhou No. 1 People's Hospital from March 2007 to March 2012 were investigated retrospectively.RESULTS: All cases manifested as progressive, painless hypopsia in binocular or monocular. Fifty-six eyes received FFA and ICGA. Forty-eight eyes showed radiation retinopathy, including 2 eyes with central retinal artery occlusion, 3 eyes with central retinal vein occlusion, 2 eyes with retinal pigment epithelial changes, 1 eye with epiretinal membrane and the remaining 40 eyes appeared cotton woolspots at posterior pole and hemorrhage. Thirty-six eyes manifested as radiation optic neuropathy, of them, optic border of 27 was clear, and that of 9 eyes was unclear. Two eyes were typical macular choroidal neovascularization(CNV), 1 eye was choroidal metastasis, 4 eyes presented choroidal abnormal circulation, 2 eyes displayed anterior uveitis and 7 eyes manifested vitreous hemorrage.CONCLUSION:Ocular complications subsequent to radiotherapy of NPC are complicated and diverse, the most common damage is radiation retinopathy and radiation optic neuropathy, whereas the small number of them are characterized by macular CNV, arterio-venous obstruction and abnormal choroid.

Keywords

• nasopharyngeal carcinoma; radiotherapy; ocular complication