Vasoproliferative retinal tumors: Clinical presentation and treatment outcome

Abstract

Objective: To study the clinical presentation and treatment outcomes of patients with vasoproliferative retinal tumor (VPRT) in India.

Methods: Retrospective study of 50 eyes in 47 patients.

Results: Of the 50 eyes, 25 (50%) were primary and 25 (50%) were secondary. Common ocular pathologies related to secondary VPRT included retinal detachment (n = 8, 32%) and Coats disease (n = 7, 28%). Overall, the mean age at presentation was 35 years (range; 3-74 years) and included 30 (64%) males and 17 (36%) females. The lesions were unilateral in 44 (94%) patients. Secondary retinal features included intra/subretinal exudation (n = 41, 82%), vascularity (n = 32, 64%), subretinal fluid (n = 21, 42%), retinal neovascularisation (n = 9, 18%) and vitreous hemorrhage (n = 8, 16%). Thirty-four eyes (68%) underwent cryotherapy, of which 16 eyes (47%) received adjunct intravitreal anti-VEGF (12 eyes) or corticosteroid injection (4 eyes). Primary surgery included vitrectomy with/without encirclage and cryotherapy (n = 12, 24%) and plaque brachytherapy (n = 3, 6%). At last follow-up (mean 9.7 months, range 3-67 months), 42 eyes (84%) had complete tumor regression with no improvement in visual outcomes when comparing presenting and final best corrected visual acuity. Comparing primary versus secondary VPRT, secondary VPRT presented a decade earlier (31 vs 40 years), needed surgical intervention (48% vs 20%), had poor tumor control (72% vs 92%) and worse visual outcomes (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: VPRTs commonly present as a unilateral lesions in the adult population with equal prevalence of primary and secondary variants. Compared with primary VPRT, secondary VPRTs require surgical treatment and are associated with poor visual outcome.

Keywords: Vasoproliferative tumor; clinical presentation; retina; secondary variant; treatment outcomes.