Abstract
Purpose: :
Lifetime prevalence of uveal melanoma in patients with ocular melanocytosis has been estimated at 1/400. This study aimed to determine the incidence of uveal melanoma in eyes with ocular melanocytosis that have involvement of more than one ocular/periocular tissue.
Methods: :
Review of medical records of ocular melanocytosis patients that had involvement of two or more of the following 5 tissues: skin, palate, sclera, iris, and choroid.
Results: :
169 eyes of 154 patients were included. Mean patient age was 39 years (range, 1-88 years) and 89 patients (58%) were female. Racial distribution included Caucasian (84%), African-American (5%), Hispanic (5%), Asian (3%), and Indian (2%). Melanocytosis was unilateral in 137 (89%) and bilateral in 17 patients (11%). Four eyes (2%) had involvement of all 5 tissues. 43 eyes (25%) had involvement of 4 tissues (39 with skin, sclera, iris, and choroid), 69 eyes (41%) had involvement of 3 tissues (59 with sclera, iris, and choroid), and 53 eyes (31%) had involvement of 2 tissues (28 with sclera and choroid).Twenty-eight eyes presented with uveal melanoma at first visit. Of 141 eyes without uveal melanoma at first visit 92 had subsequent follow-up (mean follow-up duration, 69 months), two of which (2/92=1/46) developed choroidal melanoma.
Conclusions: :
Risk of developing uveal melanoma in ocular melanocytosis eyes that have involvement of more than one ocular/periocular tissue seems to be much higher than has been previously estimated for ocular melanocytosis patients in general.
Keywords: melanoma • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: natural history • oncology