Cancer Issues
Treatment Option for Patients with Metastatic Eye Cancer
By
May 5, 2008 - 1:06:13 AM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - May is Melanoma Awareness Month, but a rare and lethal ocular version of the disease continues to get little attention. Ocular melanoma is a malignant cancer of the eye that represents 5% to 6% of all melanoma diagnoses. The disease is rarely detected before it has grown large enough to impair vision or to metastasize to other parts of the body, most commonly the liver. More than 40% of patients have hepatic metastases present at initial diagnosis, and the liver becomes involved in up to 95% of individuals who develop the metastatic disease. Once the cancer has spread to the liver, the median survival of patients is two to seven months, and the one-year survival rate is estimated to be 10%.

But now hope is offered for patients via a Phase III clinical trial offered by Delcath Systems (NASDAQ: DCTH). Currently, Delcath Systems is enrolling patients with metastatic ocular and cutaneous melanoma that has predominately spread to the liver. Metastatic disease localized in the liver has proven to be resistant to most available regimens. Delcath's liver targeted delivery system called Percutaneous Hepatic Perfusion (PHP) permits high doses of therapeutics to reach the liver while minimizing systemic exposure. The procedure consist of an infusion catheter in the hepatic artery along with a specialized balloon catheter to catch effluent venous outflow. The blood leaving the liver is cleansed by Delcath's filters before being returned to the patient. The systems allows dosages of drugs impossible via systemic routes and well above FDA approved limits.

More information can be found at www.livercancertrials.com

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