Eye on Uveal Melanoma: Enhancing proton therapy to reduce treatment-related toxicities in ocular cancer care

Uveal melanoma is a rare and aggressive intraocular malignancy, with approximately 50% of patients developing metastatic disease. Since 1975, proton beam radiotherapy has been established worldwide as a highly precise treatment for these ocular tumors, delivering excellent clinical outcomes. However, despite this success, relatively few advancements in treatment delivery have been made over the past five decades.

This doctoral Thesis is part of an innovation-driven effort supported by advances in medical imaging, with two main objectives: to initiate ocular proton therapy treatments in the Netherlands and to enhance existing treatment approaches to reduce long-term treatment-related toxicities. The focus was initially on developing an innovative treatment planning method based on three-dimensional imaging. Subsequently, efforts were directed toward modernizing several key aspects of ocular proton therapy.

In 2020, the first patient with uveal melanoma was successfully treated with proton therapy in the Netherlands.