Intra-arterial Melphalan in Treating Younger Patients With Unilateral Retinoblastoma

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To study the feasibility of delivering melphalan directly into the ophthalmic artery in children with newly diagnosed unilateral group D retinoblastoma, who would otherwise be considered for enucleation. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To estimate the ocular salvage rate after treatment with intra-arterial melphalan in children with newly diagnosed unilateral retinoblastoma with group D disease. II. To evaluate the toxicities and adverse events associated with delivering multiple doses of intra-arterial chemotherapy. III. To evaluate vision outcomes in children treated with intra-arterial chemotherapy. IV. To monitor the rate of the development of metastatic disease while on protocol therapy. TERTIARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the effects of intra-arterial therapy on the histopathology of eyes enucleated for progression. OUTLINE: Patients receive melphalan intra-arterially (IA) on day 1. Treatment repeats every 28 days for up to 3 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 1 year, every 4 months for 1 year, every 6 months for 1 year, and then periodically for 2 years.