Original Article

The Efficacy of Postoperative Topical Mitomycin C in the Treatment of Conjunctival Surface Neoplasia - Original Article

  • Hülya Gökmen Soysal
  • Zeliha Yazar

Received Date: 14.04.2008 Accepted Date: 30.07.2008 Turk J Ophthalmol 2008;38(6):464-467

Purpose:

To report the efficacy and reliability of postoperative topical mitomycin C 0.02% in the treatment and preventing local recurrences of conjunctival surface neoplasia.

Material - Methods:

Excisional biopsies were performed to the patients who clinically diagnosed as primary conjunctival surface tumor. Sixteen patients with histologically proven conjunctival epithelial malignant neoplasia and had neoplastic cells in at least one of the surgical borders, were involved in this study. Patients were treated with topical mitomycin C 0.02% four times a day, for 14 days.

Results:

Nine patients were women, 7 patients were men. The mean age was 59.1 (range;19-77). Histopathological diagnosis was malignant melanoma in 4 cases, squamous cell carcinoma in 6 cases and intraepithelial neoplasia in 6 cases. Three patients had a history of previous recurrence. Clinically all of the patients were disease free after the topical mitomycine C treatment.No recurrence was observed after a mean follow up time of 29 (range; 10-72) months. The side effects of topical mitomycin C included conjunctival hyperemia (12 cases), photophobia (8 cases), punctate epithelial keratitis (4 cases) and erithema of the eyelid skin (3 cases).

Conclusion:

The use of postoperative mitomycin C 0.02% is an effective and well tolerated method of treatment to prevent recurrences in patients with incompletely excised conjunctival surface neoplasms.

Keywords: Carcinoma, conjunctiva, malignant, melanoma, mitomycine C

Full Text (Turkish)