Purpose:
To determine the relationships between Gene Expression Profiling (GEP) classification, cytologic diagnosis, and size of melanocytic uveal tumors sampled by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). And comment on the overall survival of patients.
Methods:
One hundred and fifty-four samples of patients with melanocytic uveal tumors were obtained by FNAB. In each case, at least 2 samples were obtained and evaluated by both cytology and GEP. The relationship between GEP, cytologic classification, and tumor thickness were studied by cross tabulation analysis.
Results:
The table below reveals the cytologic diagnosis versus GEP classification. Thirty-four of the 154 tumors (22.1%) yielded an insufficient specimen for cytodiagnosis. In contrast, FNAB yielded an insufficient specimen for GEP in only one case (0.6%). Among thinner tumors (≤ 3.5mm), 75% were class 1 (n=30) while only 61% of thicker tumors (> 7 mm) were GEP class 1. However, this association did not reach statistical significance. Three-year cumulative actuarial melanoma specific mortality in this group is 31.7%.
Conclusions:
The thicker a melanocytic uveal tumor at the time of FNAB, the less likely the tumor would be categorized as Class 1 by GEP. As shown by the table bellow, cytologic classification strongly correlates with GEP class.
Keywords: melanoma • gene microarray • cytology