[Choroid melanoma. Adjuvant therapy in high risk patients and new therapy approaches in the metastatic stage]. / Aderhautmelanom. Adjuvante Therapie bei Hochrisikopatienten und neue Therapieansätze im metastasierten Stadium.

The treatment modality of primary uveal melanoma has up to now had no direct influence on the evolution of metastatic disease. Novel adjuvant treatment modalities are being developed on the basis of identifying significant prognostic factors for survival. The development of vaccination protocols targeting specific melanoma and/or tumor antigens has gained increasing importance and is currently being evaluated. Up to date the median survival of patients with metastases of uveal melanoma used to be approx. 5 months. In the last years median survival of selected patients with metastatic disease could be increased to 14 months by intrahepatic fotemustin influsions. Novel systemic chemotherapy protocols are currently being evaluated based on chemosensitivity studies. Furthermore, immunotherapeutical modalities are entering clinical evaluation as treatment for metastatic uveal melanoma.