Abstract
Purpose: :
To compare ultrasound biomicroscopy and anterior optical coherence tomography for evaluating ocular surface tumors.
Methods: :
Prospective case series included corneal and/or conjunctival ocular tumors. All patients were submitted to photographic documentation, UBM (50 MHz transducer, immersion technique) and AS-OCT (1320 nm, VisanteTM OCT, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc) examination. Histopathologic correlation was possible in the lesions submitted to biopsy.
Results: :
Fifteen patients were studied (males, 8). The following lesions were evaluated: conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (2); conjunctival cyst (1); invasive squamous cell carcinoma (4); conjunctival nevus (2); conjunctival melanoma (2); epibulbar dermoid (2); granuloma (1); primary acquired melanosis (1). AS-OCT was useful for evaluating flat solid lesions (less than 1.0-mm thick) despite pigmentation. Conjunctival cystic lesions were well-delimited, independent of its thickness. UBM was also adequate to image such lesions, and was superior to determine the posterior boundary of thick and/or pigmented lesions. Lesions containing a heavy amount of keratin or calcium deposits could not generate adequate image using both methods.
Conclusions: :
High-frequency ultrasound is indicated in a wide range of ocular surface tumors, due to its property to penetrate thick and pigmented lesions. For certain surface tumors, AS-OCT can be useful for serial analysis, considering that it is a well tolerated non-contact method. Lesions with either a heavy amount of keratin or calcium provided suboptimal documentation with both methods, due to artifacts.
Keywords: imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • tumors • anterior segment