Abstract
Purpose: :
To assess the abnormalities of chromosome 3 in an Austrian cohort of patients with uveal melanoma.
Methods: :
From July 2004 to November 2005 23 tumors from patients (12 females, 11 males, mean age 65.3 + 11.9 years) with uveal melanoma were analyzed for numerical changes in chromosome 3 by fluorescent in situ hybridization after enucleation or endoresection, respectively.
Results: :
Monosomy of chromosome 3 was detected in 12 (52.2%) of the 23 tumors. Partial deletions of chromosome 3 were found in 3 tumors. Results were related to large basal tumor diameter (15.53 + 3.33mm), ciliary body involvement (n = 7), histologic cell type (spindle B, n = 6; mixed or epitheloid cell type, n = 17), and death due to metastatic disease.
Conclusions: :
Uveal melanoma is a highly malignant disease with a mortality rate of 50% at 10 to 15 years. Loss of chromosome 3 in uveal melanoma is associated with a decreased survival of the patients. Accurate identification of patients with a high probability of metastatic disease is important with regard to clinical managemet , including close surveillance, of these patients. In our cohort 52.2% of uveal melanoma patients were found to have monosomy 3.
Keywords: melanoma • tumors • uvea