Abstract
Purpose :
Pterygium is a frequent benign condition, and the standard medical practice is to discard the sample when excised. Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) co-existence in pterygium biopsies is variable between cross-sectional studies. A higher correlation is observed amongst people from lower latitudes and Caucasians. Data on the association of OSSN and pterygium in Latinos are sparse. The purpose of this study is to estimate the frequency of coexisting OSSN in pterygium biopsies in people from Chile.
Methods :
Samples from adult patients who underwent a pterygium removal surgery during the first semester of 2018 were prospectively collected and sent for pathological examination. Patients with clinical suspicion of OSSN were excluded. All biopsies were evaluated by an ocular pathologist. Co-existence of OSSN was compared between central (33°S, similar distance from equator to Los Angeles, CA, USA) and southern latitudes (41°S, similar to Chicago, Il, USA). This investigation was approved by the Ethics Review Board.
Results :
A total of 55 surgeries from 54 patients were performed. The average age was 55±12 years and 50.91% were women. Grade one conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia was found in two cases (both female, 53 and 54 years-old), corresponding to 3.63% of excised lesions. OSSN was found in two patients from central Chile and in none from southern Chile (p=0.54).
Conclusions :
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting association of OSSN and pterygium in a Latino population, with 3.63% prevalence in the study sample. This data suggests that excised pterygium from Chile should be submitted for pathology evaluation. We note the additional observation that a higher proportion of OSSN was observed in central Chile compared to southern Chile, although this was not a statistically significant finding and a larger cohort of patients is needed to be able to further study this hypothesis. Aside from increasing the number of patients, future studies could include data from a third distinct latitude in northern Chile.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.