Intra-Arterial Hepatic Carboplatin-Based Chemotherapy for Ocular Melanoma Metastatic to the Liver. Report of a Phase II Study

Aims and Background ocular melanoma tends to metastasize to the liver, sparing for a long time the rest of the organism. Therefore, a regional treatment is especially indicated. Methods eight patients with ocular melanoma metastatic to the liver were treated with intraarterial hepatic carboplatin-based chemotherapy at the dose of 300 mg/m 2 once every two weeks at an outpatient clinic. All the patients were submitted to laparotomy with surgical implantation of an arterial port device through the gastroduodenal artery. Results the overall response rate was 38% with a median survival time of 15 months. The regimen was well tolerated and the principle toxicity was myelosuppression; any instance of hepatic and/ or cholangitic damage was reported. Conclusions Carboplatin seems suitable for intraarterial hepatic chemotherapy and active in ocular melanoma metastic to the liver.