Background: In Finland, selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) is at present the preferred first-line loco-regional therapy for uveal melanoma patients with hepatic metastases not suitable for surgery. We retrospectively evaluate the outcome and safety of SIRT in this group of patients.

Material and methods: Yttrium-90 microspheres were delivered via the hepatic artery into the circulation of metastases from uveal melanoma in 18 patients with a predicted life expectancy of more than three months in three Finnish tertiary referral centers between November 2010 and December 2015. Progression-free survival (PFS), toxicity and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. Patients with historical uveal melanoma without extrahepatic metastases, who had received systemic chemotherapy as first-line treatment for their hepatic metastases at the Helsinki University Hospital between January 2006 and May 2010, were used as a historical control group.

Results: Partial response and stable disease were observed in three (17%) and eight (44%) patients, respectively; one patient was not evaluable for response. Median PFS after SIRT was 5.6 (range, 1.3–40.8) months. Median OS after SIRT was 13.5 (range, 3.6–44.8) months compared with 10.5 (range, 3.0–16.5; p = .047) months for the historical chemotherapy group. Among patients who received SIRT as first-line treatment, the median OS was 18.7 (range, 8.2–44.8) months, significantly longer than that of the chemotherapy group (10.5 months, p = .017). There were no treatment-related deaths. Toxicity was mainly WHO grade 1–2 and self-limited.

Conclusion: SIRT is a feasible and safe treatment for liver metastases in patients with uveal melanoma.