Circumscribed choroidal hemangioma: A case report and literature review

Choroidal hemangioma is a rare congenital ocular tumor that can present as either circumscribed or diffuse. Circumscribed choroidal hemangioma (CCH) typically manifests as a red-orange mass within the posterior pole and appears similar to other ocular conditions, such as choroidal melanoma and choroidal metastasis. Proper diagnosis is crucial and is aided by the use of ancillary testing. CCH itself is benign but can cause secondary complications such as subretinal fluid accumulation and subsequent retinal detachment. If these conditions should arise, several treatment options are available.

Small Choroidal Melanoma Revealed by a Large Extrascleral Extension

AIMS

Orbital extraocular extension of choroidal melanoma is very rare with small melanomas. We report the case of a patient whose small choroidal melanoma was initially overlooked and was revealed by a large extrascleral extension.

METHODS

A 48-year-old Caucasian woman presented with sudden total visual loss in the right eye. Multicolor imaging of the fundus showed right optic disc edema and an orange and green lesion near the optic disc. The diagnosis of unilateral optic neuritis was made. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an extraocular mass adjacent to the optic nerve; on ultrasound, this mass was acoustically hollow and a small intraocular component was visible.

RESULTS

Choroidal melanoma with a large extrascleral extension was diagnosed (T4eN0M0, stage IIIC according to the AJCC 7th TNM classification, 2010). The size of the extraocular nodule was 13 × 5 mm. Treatment consisted of enucleation followed by adjuvant external beam orbital radiotherapy. Tumor analysis showed a mixed cell type melanoma with monosomy 3. The patient developed liver metastasis 10 months after local treatment.

CONCLUSION

Extraocular extension of choroidal melanoma can occur with small lesions. Prognosis is generally poor according to AJCC TNM. This case is a reminder that fundus examination may reveal the nature of the mass in some patients with orbital tumors.

Visual acuity, oncologic, and toxicity outcomes with 103Pd vs. 125I plaque treatment for choroidal melanoma

PURPOSE

To evaluate outcomes of choroidal melanoma patients treated with ¹²⁵I or ¹⁰³Pd plaque brachytherapy.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

From 1993 to 2012, our institution treated 160 patients with ¹⁰³Pd (56.1%) and 125 patients with ¹²⁵I (43.9%) plaque brachytherapy. Tumor outcomes, visual acuity (VA), and toxicity were compared. Multivariate analyses (MVAs) and propensity score analysis were used to help address differences in baseline characteristics.

RESULTS

Median followup was longer for ¹²⁵I patients, 52.7 vs. 43.5 months (p < 0.01). At baseline, ¹⁰³Pd patients had lower rates of VA worse than 20/200 (4.4% vs. 16%, p = 0.002), T3-T4 tumors (17.5% vs. 32.8%, p = 0.03), and transpupillary thermotherapy use (3.1% vs. 9.6%, p = 0.001). Both ¹⁰³Pd and ¹²⁵I provided >90% 3-year overall survival and >93% 5-year secondary enucleation-free survival. On MVA, radionuclide was not predictive for tumor outcomes. A higher percentage maintained vision better than 20/40 with ¹⁰³Pd (63% vs. 35%, p = 0.007) at 3 years. MVA demonstrated ¹⁰³Pd radionuclide (odds ratio [OR]: 2.12, p = 0.028) and tumor height ≤5 mm (OR: 2.78, p = 0.017) were associated with VA better than 20/40. Propensity score analysis matched 23 ¹²⁵I with 107 ¹⁰³Pd patients. ¹⁰³Pd continued to predict better VA at 3 years (OR: 8.10, p = 0.014). On MVA for the development of VA worse than 20/200 or degree of vision loss, radionuclide was not significant. Lower rates of radiation retinopathy were seen with ¹⁰³Pd than ¹²⁵I (3 years: 47.3% vs. 63.9%, p = 0.016), with radionuclide significant in MVA.

CONCLUSIONS

Both ¹²⁵I and ¹⁰³Pd achieve excellent tumor control. An increased probability of long-term VA better than 20/40 and reduced risk of radiation retinopathy is associated with ¹⁰³Pd.

Dosimetric and radiobiologic comparison of 103Pd COMS plaque brachytherapy and Gamma Knife radiosurgery for choroidal melanoma

PURPOSE

Plaque brachytherapy (BT) and Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) are highly conformal treatment options for choroidal melanoma. This study objectively compares physical dose and biologically effective dose (BED) distributions for these two modalities.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Tumor and organ-at-risk (OAR) dose distributions from a CT-defined reference right eye were compared between ¹⁰³Pd COMS (Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study Group) plaques delivering 70 Gy (plaque heterogeneity corrected) over 120 h to the tumor apex and GKRS plans delivering 22 Gy to the 40% isodose line for a representative sample of clinically relevant choroidal melanoma locations and sizes. Tumor and OAR biologically effective dose-volume histograms were generated using consensus radiobiologic parameters and modality-specific BED equations.

RESULTS

Published institutional prescriptive practices generally lead to larger tumor and OAR physical doses from COMS BT vs. GKRS. Radiobiologic dose conversions, however, revealed variable BEDs. Medium and large tumors receive >1.3 times higher BEDs with COMS BT vs. GKRS. OAR BEDs have even greater dependence on tumor size, location, and treatment modality. For example, COMS BT maximum BEDs to the optic nerve are lower than from GKRS for large anterior and all posterior tumors but are higher for anterior small and medium tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

BT and GKRS for choroidal melanoma have different physical dose and BED distributions with potentially unique clinical consequences. Using published institutional prescriptive practices, neither modality is uniformly favored, although COMS BT delivers higher physical doses and BEDs to tumors. These results suggest that lowering the physical prescription dose for COMS BT to more closely match the BED of GKRS might maintain equivalent tumor control with less potential morbidity.

Evisceration and ocular tumors: What are the consequences?

PURPOSE

Evisceration can be performed for blind, painful eyes. This surgery can promote the dissemination of tumor cells within the orbit if an ocular tumor has been missed preoperatively.

METHODS

We reviewed the medical records of patients who were eviscerated for blind, painful eyes between 2009 and 2014 and who were referred after the surgery to the Institut Curie or the Rothschild Foundation in Paris. We included the patients with a histological diagnosis of ocular tumor or orbital recurrence. Cytogenetic analysis was performed whenever possible.

RESULTS

Four patients turned out to have an ocular tumor after evisceration (two choroidal melanomas, a rhabdoid tumor and an adenocarcinoma of the retinal pigment epithelium); two had a history of prior ocular trauma. The tumors were diagnosed either on histological analysis of the intraocular contents (2 patients) or biopsy of orbital recurrence (2 patients). Prior to evisceration, fundus examination was not performed in 3 patients. One had preoperative imaging but no intraocular tumor was suspected. At the time of this study, 3 patients had had an orbital recurrence and died. We also found 2 patients who had an evisceration despite a past history of choroidal melanoma treated with proton beam therapy.

CONCLUSION

We showed that evisceration of eyes with unsuspected ocular malignancies was associated with a poor prognosis due to orbital recurrence and metastasis. The evisceration specimen should therefore always be sent for histological analysis in order to perform prompt adjuvant orbital radiotherapy if an ocular tumor is found.

Fulminant hepatic failure due to metastatic choroidal melanoma

BACKGROUND

Acute liver failure (ALF) as a consequence of metastatic disease is extremely uncommon. The liver is the most commonly affected organ by metastatic disease, but only a few cases of ALF in the setting of metastatic choroidal melanoma have been reported.

CASE PRESENTATION

We describe the case of a 47-year-old man with right upper quadrant pain, progressive jaundice, and unintentional weight loss. He also reported that he had experienced reduced left visual acuity which progressed to blindness over 2 months. On physical examination, we found a pigmented scleral lesion in the left eye. He had a coagulopathy and, during his hospital stay, he also developed encephalopathy. The diagnosis of ALF was therefore established and was later attributed to metastatic uveal melanoma. In addition, we briefly review the relevant literature.

CONCLUSION

Liver metastasis should be kept in mind when assessing abnormal liver function tests in patients with uveal malignant melanoma.

Radiation maculopathy treated with intravitreal bevacizumab

CASE REPORT

A 47 year-old woman with a choroidal melanoma developed a macular oedema secondary to radiation therapy 75 months after brachytherapy plaque. The patient received 3 intravitreal Bevacizumab injections.

DISCUSSION

The patient had a good response to bevacizumab treatment. In fact, there was a reduction in the macular oedema measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan, as well as an improvement in best corrected visual acuity. There was no recurrence of macular oedema, and visual acuity remained stable after 3-years follow-up.

23-mm iodine-125 plaque for uveal melanoma: benefit of vitrectomy and silicone oil on visual acuity

PURPOSE

To review outcomes in mostly large uveal melanoma treated with a 23-mm-diameter iodine-125 plaque, the largest size available at our center, and the influence of vitrectomy and silicone oil 1000 centistokes for radiation attenuation.

METHODS

A one-to-one matched case-control comparison was performed. Case patients were treated with a 23-mm-diameter iodine-125 plaque and vitrectomy with silicone oil 1000-cSt placement. Control cases, treated with 23-mm plaque alone, were matched to cases with respect to tumor size and distance from tumor apex to optic nerve and fovea. Postoperative complications, visual acuity and metastasis were reviewed.

RESULTS

Twenty case patients with uveal melanoma treated with a 23-mm plaque were identified. The final logMAR vision was 0.83 in case patients and 2.06 in control patients (P = 0.0064); the change from pre-treatment to last follow-up logMAR vision was 0.70 in cases and 1.62 in controls (P = 0.019). Of good vision outcomes, 65 % of cases and 25 % of controls achieved vision ≥20/200 (P = 0.025). Of poor vision outcomes, 35 % of cases and 80 % of controls achieved vision <20/200 (P = 0.0053), and 5 % of cases and 35 % of controls achieved "light perception" or "no light perception" vision (P = 0.044). Thirty-nine of the 40 eyes (98 %) achieved local tumor control. Metastasis occurred in 15 % of cases and 45 % of controls (P = 0.082).

CONCLUSIONS

Iodine-125 brachytherapy for mostly large uveal melanoma is effective in achieving local tumor control. Furthermore, combining brachytherapy with vitrectomy and silicone oil 1000-cSt for radiation attenuation significantly improves vision over the use of plaque alone.

Progressive Scleral Necrosis following I-125 Plaque Radiotherapy for Ciliochoroidal Melanoma with Protruding Extraocular Mass

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to describe the side effects of I-125 brachytherapy in the treatment of uveal melanoma.

METHODS

This study was conducted as a case report.

RESULTS

We report a case of scleral necrosis and protruding episcleral mass following the treatment of uveal melanoma with I-125 brachytherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Scleral necrosis after plaque radiotherapy can clinically simulate tumor recurrence with extraocular extension. The management of uveal melanoma requires a careful clinical follow-up, weighing the implications of treatment morbidity and mortality.

Diagnosis of Choroidal Melanoma in Dense Asteroid Hyalosis

PURPOSE

To demonstrate the utility of Optos ultra-wide field imaging in the diagnosis and management of choroidal melanoma in the setting of asteroid hyalosis.

DESIGN

Observational case report.

METHOD

A 52-year-old female was referred for evaluation of floaters, photopsias, and blurry vision in the right eye. Clinical examination revealed dense asteroid hyalosis obscuring the fundus, and a limited view of a pigmented choroidal lesion in the nasal periphery. Optos ultra-wide field fluorescein angiography and ultrasonography facilitated the diagnosis of a choroidal melanoma.

RESULTS

The patient underwent Iodine-125 brachytherapy for local tumor control and excellent tumor response was confirmed with serial follow-up Optos imaging and ultrasonography.

CONCLUSION

Ultra-wide field fundus fluorescein angiography facilitated the diagnosis of a choroidal melanoma, which was obscured by dense asteroid hyalosis, allowing for local tumor control with brachytherapy. Optos wide-field imaging may be a valuable tool for detecting potentially life-threatening lesions in the setting of asteroid hyalosis.

Poor Uptake of Fluorodeoxyglucose in Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography Scan for Intraocular Choroidal Melanoma in Asian Indian Eyes

Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan is fast becoming a very useful tool in diagnosing and staging of several malignancies that affect the human body. We report three cases of ocular choroidal malignant melanoma, wherein FDG PET-CT scan did not show as good uptake as seen in other cancers.

Tumor-height regression rate after brachytherapy between choroidal melanoma gene expression profile classes: effect of controlling for tumor height

PURPOSE

To evaluate the relationship between choroidal melanoma regression rate and its gene expression profile class after iodine-125 brachytherapy at 3 and 6 months, controlling for baseline tumor height.

METHODS

Patients from October 2012 to January 2015 at a single Ophthalmic Oncology Center who had undergone iodine-125 brachytherapy for the treatment of choroidal melanoma and who had a gene expression profile test result obtained from intraoperative fine-needle aspiration biopsy at the time of plaque surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Baseline patient and tumor characteristics were obtained, including tumor height and gene expression profile test result. Tumor height at 3 and 6 months following treatment was obtained. Regression rate was analyzed with two-way analysis of variance to class type and baseline pre-operative tumor height. Class 2 patients were matched to class 1 patients by tumor height and resulting distributions of paired regression rate differences were compared.

RESULTS

A total of 114 patients were studied. When preoperative tumor height was controlled for in the comparative analysis, neither group of patients at 3 or 6 months had a significant dependency between gene expression profile class and tumor regression rate. Additionally, class 1 and class 2 patients matched for pre-operative tumor height did not express different regression rates.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study adds to a growing body of evidence that tumor regression rate does not necessarily depend on gene expression profile class type in choroidal melanoma after brachytherapy at 3 and 6 months when controlling for baseline tumor height.

Clinical application of genetic testing for posterior uveal melanoma

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults, and it has a strong potential to metastasize. Traditionally, clinicopathological features of these tumors were used to provide a limited prediction of the metastatic risk. However, early genetic studies using karyotype analysis, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and comparative genetic hybridization of posterior uveal melanoma samples identified multiple chromosomal abnormalities associated with a higher risk of fatal metastasis. This correlation between specific genetic abnormalities in uveal melanoma and a patient's risk for development of metastasis has recently been widely studied, and the development of new prognostic tests has allowed clinicians to predict this metastatic risk with increased accuracy. Such novel tests include gene expression profiling, which analyzes the RNA expression patterns of tumor cells, and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, which detects deletions or and amplifications of DNA in tumor cells. This review discusses the current status of prognostic testing techniques available to clinicians and patients for posterior uveal melanomas.

Orbital Extension of an Unsuspected Choroidal Melanoma Presumably through an Aqueous Tube Shunt

AIMS

To report a patient with unrecognized small macular melanoma, who gradually developed neovascular glaucoma that was treated with an Ahmed valve. We presume that tumor cells gained access to the orbit through this aqueous drainage device.

METHODS

The medical records pertaining to 5 different centers, the results of imaging studies, the clinical course of the patient and histopathological findings were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

A 61-year-old man presented with a blind and painful proptotic right eye. Retinal hemorrhage had been suspected 3 years earlier and followed accordingly thereafter. Yearly performed MRI studies demonstrated the steady growth of the hemorrhagic lesion/tumor. Meanwhile, he developed neovascular glaucoma first treated unsuccessfully with cyclocryotherapy then with implantation of an Ahmed valve. Right proptosis became evident within a year, and a final MRI study revealed a large retrobulbar mass. Orbital exenteration was performed and histopathological examination showed intraocular and orbital epithelioid cell melanoma. Tumor cells were also found within the reservoir of the Ahmed valve. The patient died of widespread metastases 1 year later.

CONCLUSIONS

Ahmed valve implantation in an eye with unsuspected macular choroidal melanoma may ultimately be associated with extraocular extension and orbital tumor formation.

The Development of Orange Pigment Overlying Choroidal Metastasis

AIMS

The aim of this study was to correlate the ophthalmoscopic and histopathological findings of orange pigment overlying a choroidal metastasis.

METHODS

This is a single case report with clinical follow-up and histopathological examination.

RESULTS

Histopathology revealed a choroidal metastasis with subretinal CD68-positive macrophages showing autofluorescent deposits in fluorescence microscopy.

CONCLUSION

The development of orange pigment is not pathognomonic for choroidal melanoma but may be seen in other lesions such as carcinoma metastasis.

Delayed presentation of a metastatic choroidal melanoma to the liver: The latency of an elective metastatic localization

INTRODUCTION

Choroidal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumour and the second most common type of primary malignant melanoma in the body. Biologically, cutaneuous and ocular melanoma may be considered different, in terms of both metastatic diffusion and metastatic latency. The principal target organ for metastasis of the ocular melanoma is the liver.This distinctive behaviour is also sustained by different metastatic latency, as some patients present with metastatic ocular melanoma several years after the treatment of the primary tumor.

PRESENTATION OF CASE

A 60 year-old male who had undergone left ocular enucleation for choroid melanoma 20 years ago was referred to our department with a three months history of diffuse abdominal pain, fever, weight loss and massive ascites. Abdominal ultrasonography (US) and total body computed tomography (CT) scan were performed and revealed diffuse liver metastases, associated with peritoneal carcinosis, bilateral adrenal metastases and a large mass in the left kidney compatible with another secondary localization. An ultrasound guided fine needle agobiopsy (FNA) of liver lesions was performed and the pathological findings led to the diagnosis of liver metastasis from choroidal melanoma. The patient died a few weeks later for hepatic failure.

DISCUSSION

Currently, there is no consensus regarding the optimal follow-up in terms of screening modality or time interval after the treatment of the primary ocular melanoma.

CONCLUSION

Patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and a history of choroidal melanoma should be investigated for the presence of gastrointestinal or liver metastases, although the original primary malignancy was diagnosed years before the patient's presentation.

Endodrainage, Tumor Photocoagulation, and Silicone Oil Tamponade for Primary Exudative Retinal Detachment due to Choroidal Melanoma Persisting after Proton Beam Therapy

BACKGROUND

Choroidal melanoma is frequently accompanied by an exudative retinal detachment that can persist after proton beam therapy. This study investigates whether vitrectomy without tumor resection improves the clinical outcome.

METHODS

This is a retrospective interventional case series. Twenty patients with choroidal melanoma with exudative retinal detachment involving the macula were treated by vitrectomy, endodrainage, photocoagulation, and silicone oil tamponade after proton beam therapy.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up was 38.4 months (median 21.5, range 12.0-122.0). The mean time between proton beam therapy and surgery was 4.5 months (range 0.1-9.2). Reattachment was achieved in 95% of the patients after one vitrectomy. One patient was lost to follow-up because enucleation was performed after 45.9 months due to a secondary glaucoma. Mean visual acuity decreased from 1.1 to 1.8 logMAR before vitrectomy and after 4 years, respectively. No patient showed local tumor recurrence. Metastatic disease was present in 1 patient after 15.2 months, and this patient died after 19.2 months.

CONCLUSION

Vitrectomy is indicated after therapeutic proton beam irradiation in patients who present with persisting exudative retinal detachment involving the macula and high local or systemic risk factors for hemorrhagic complications, thus excluding endoresection.

Spontaneous Necrosis of Choroidal Melanoma

BACKGROUND/AIMS

The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical presentations and pathological features of spontaneously necrotic choroidal melanomas.

METHODS

The clinical and histological features of patients who underwent enucleation for uveal melanoma from 1989 to 2012 at Emory University and were found to have spontaneously necrotic choroidal melanomas were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 6 cases were identified. All cases had 90-100% tumor necrosis and also exhibited marked ischemic necrosis of the iris and ciliary body; 5 of 6 cases exhibited marked ischemic necrosis of the retina. The tumor consisted of melanoma ghost cells often surrounded by a zone of pigmented macrophages. Thrombi were not found in any of the cases. All of the tumors in our cases were centered around the equatorial choroid and 2 extended into the ciliary body. One of the cases exhibited a wedge-shaped infarct in a lateral aspect of the tumor. In most of the cases, microscopic areas of intact tumor cells were present in the peripheries of the tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

Spontaneous necrosis may occur in uveal melanoma. We believe that this occurs secondary to tumor hypoxia in the center of the tumor, followed by secondary inflammation, generalized ischemia and finally complete tumor necrosis.

103Pd versus 125I ophthalmic plaque brachytherapy: preoperative comparative radiation dosimetry for 319 uveal melanomas

Objective

This study was conducted to compare the relative, clinical intraocular dose distribution for palladium-103 (¹⁰³Pd) versus iodine-125 (¹²⁵I) ophthalmic plaque radiation therapy.

Methods

Preoperative comparative radiation dosimetry was performed to evaluate 319 consecutive uveal melanomas treated between 2006 and 2012.

Results

There were 68 (21.3 %) anterior (iris and/or ciliary body) and 251 (78.7 %) choroidal melanomas examined in this study. According to AJCC staging, 7th edition, 146 (45.8 %) were T1, 126 (39.5 %) T2, 40 (12.5 %) T3, and 7 (2.2 %) T4. All were prescribed an equivalent tumor-apex dose. When compared to ¹²⁵I, ¹⁰³Pd was associated with a mean 41.9 % lower radiation dose to the opposite eye wall (p < 0.001), 12.7 % to the lens center (p < 0.001), 7.5 % to the optic disc (p = 0.008), and a 3.8 % decrease to the fovea (p = 0.034). However, subgroup analysis of smaller (T1-staged) tumors showed greater dose reductions to normal ocular structures compared to larger (T4-staged) tumors. Tumor and therefore plaque location also affected intraocular dose distribution. For example, palladium-103-related dose reductions to the fovea, optic nerve, and opposite eye wall were significantly greater for iris and ciliary body tumors compared to posterior choroidal melanomas (p < 0.001). After comparative dosimetry, 98.7 % (n = 315/319) were treated with ¹⁰³Pd.

Conclusion

Preoperative comparative radiation dosimetry was performed for a large cohort of patients with uveal melanoma. It influenced radionuclide selection, offered an opportunity for radiation sparing of critical vision-related intraocular structures, and typically increased radiation within the tumors.

Unexpected pulmonary hypertensive crisis after surgery for ocular malignant melanoma

AIMS

To report a case of unexpected pulmonary hypertensive crisis caused by endothelin release from melanoma cells after surgery for choroidal melanoma.

MAIN METHODS

A 56-year-old man suddenly developed dyspnea after resection of choroidal melanoma. Worsening hypoxia required intensive treatment, including percutaneous cardiopulmonary support, after which a series of tests were immediately performed. The tentative diagnosis was idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.

KEY FINDINGS

Previous studies noted a significant association between melanoma and endothelin (ET)-1. We hypothesized that a substantial amount of ET-1 had been released from malignant melanoma cells during resection, thus triggering the pulmonary hypertensive crisis in our patient. The patient fully recovered after intensive treatment and administration of the endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan.

SIGNIFICANCE

The success of bosentan treatment, along with the extremely high level of ET-1 on pathologic analysis, confirmed our hypothesis regarding the increase in plasma ET-1 level.

Pure laparoscopic posterior sectionectomy for liver metastasis resulting from choroidal malignant melanoma: a case report

Liver metastases resulting from primary choroidal malignant melanomas occur frequently and have a poor prognosis. As a result of advancements in multidisciplinary approaches, life expectancy can be increased when R0 resection is possible. Herein we report the surgical outcomes of pure laparoscopic posterior sectionectomy (PLPS) in a patient with a solitary liver metastasis resulting from choroidal malignant melanoma. The subject was a 46-year-old Japanese man who had received radiotherapy for primary right choroidal malignant melanoma 2 years before presenting at our hospital; he subsequently underwent ophthalmectomy as a result of the relapse. During follow-up, CT revealed a metastatic lesion in the liver S7, and interventional treatments were performed sequentially. The lesion still showed a tendency to enlarge, so we performed PLPS. On postoperative day 7, the patient was discharged from the hospital, and he started to receive adjuvant chemotherapy 2 weeks after PLPS. Although PLPS is deemed to be difficult for lesions in the upper part or posterior segment of the liver, we performed this modality safely.

[Combined choroidal biopsy and cytology for diagnosis of intraocular tumour]

CLINICAL CASE

No intraocular biopsy technique is free of risk and all have the possibility of giving false negatives due to the difficulty in obtaining a sufficient sample. A modified chorioretinal biopsy was performed on a patient with suspected choroidal melanoma after negative biopsy with 25G vitrectomy. In addition to removing a solid fragment of tumor material using bimanual surgery, material from the lesion was obtained with the vitreotome to perform cytology, which confirmed the diagnosis of melanoma.

DISCUSSION

Cytology obtained through the vitreotome in association with removing a solid sample of the choroidal lesion may improve the efficiency of intraocular biopsy.

A case of solitary pulmonary metastasis of choroidal melanoma with an exceptionally long disease-free period

INTRODUCTION

Choroidal melanoma is the most common primary malignant intraocular tumor in adults. And its metastatic spread has been considered to be hematogenous with the liver being the most common site, and a solitary pulmonary metastasis without hepatic involvement is quite rare.

PRESENTATION OF CASE

We report the case of a 61-year-old woman with a solitary pulmonary metastasis from choroidal melanoma, which had been originally treated with enucleation 13 years ago. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) right upper lobectomy was performed for the right upper lobe tumor, which was histopathologically confirmed to be metastatic choroidal melanoma.

DISCUSSION

Our case is quite unusual in 2 points; firstly, a solitary pulmonary metastasis without hepatic involvement is rare. Secondly, this mode of metastasis with an exceptionally long disease-free period (13 years) is also rare.

CONCLUSION

A pulmonary metastasis from choroidal melanoma is described with reference to relevant literature.

[Choroidal melanoma treated by protontherapy: anatomical and functional results at Strasbourg University Medical Center]

PURPOSE

To report anatomical and functional results of choroidal melanoma treated by protontherapy between 2001 and 2011 and to compare these with data reported in the literature.

METHODS

The present study is a retrospective review of the charts of patients presenting with choroidal melanoma, managed at Strasbourg University Medical Center between 2001 and 2011, and receiving protontherapy. Visual acuity and a complete ophthalmologic examination, including intraocular pressure, dilated fundus exam, and ultrasonography with measurement of the major diameter of the tumor, were performed prior to treatment and at various follow-up visits (every six months for five years, then once a year for ten years). The rates and timing of local complications (cataract, rubeosis, retinal detachment, neovascular glaucoma and secondary enucleation) and systemic complications (metastasis) are also reported.

RESULTS

Seventy charts were included. Mean age of the treated population was 61.4 ± 15.2 years. Male/female ratio was 1.06. Mean visual acuity, 0.55 ± 0.6 (20/67) on presentation, decreased progressively from month 42. Mean tumor thickness was 5.8 ± 2.8mm and major diameter 11.2 ± 2.9 mm. Decreased tumor thickness was noted beginning at month 12 of follow-up (Anova, P<0.0001), while major diameter remained unchanged over time (P>0.05). The risk of complications (retinal detachment, rubeosis, neovascular glaucoma) was greater between the second and third year. Mean 5-year survival was 87.5%. The rate of secondary enucleation was 8.5%.

CONCLUSION

Protontherapy most often allows for preservation of the globe. Visual loss, often significant and permanent, is frequent.

Concomitant choroidal melanoma and non-hodgkin lymphoma in two adult patients: case report

Objective

To report two cases of concomitant choroidal melanoma and intraocular non-Hodgkin lymphoma in two patients.

Design

Case report.

Participants

Two patients with yellow creamy infiltrates in fundo.

Intervention

Both patients had a complete ophthalmologic evaluation and histology was obtained after enucleation of the affected eye.

Main Outcome Measures

Histology findings of the enucleated eyes.

Results

One patient showed a choroidal melanoma with a primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma located solely in the affected eye. The other patient showed a systemic non-Hodgkin lymphoma with ocular manifestations concomitant with a choroidal melanoma.

Conclusions

In the presence of yellow creamy infiltrates one should include a choroidal lymphoma in the differential diagnosis even if there is another clear pathologic condition. Furthermore in those cases systemic disease should be excluded.