Conjunctival metastasis as initial sign of disseminated cutaneous melanoma

Conjunctival Melanoma with Ipsilateral, Non-Contiguous Eyelid Involvement: A Case Report and Comprehensive Review of the Literature

While the majority of cases of conjunctival melanoma (CM) involve the bulbar conjunctiva, concurrent pigmentation of the ipsilateral eyelid can be seen in up to 15% of cases. Although extension of conjunctival melanoma into the eyelid (AJCC cT3b) occurs in 1% of cases, non-contiguous lesions are very rare with only 5 clearly documented reports in the English literature. Several pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed, including separate primary melanomas, patchy involvement from primary acquired melanosis (which may be sine pigmento) and exfoliation of malignant tumour cells into the tear film. Herein we present a case of eyelid melanoma arising in a patient previously treated for CM at a non-contiguous site and provide a comprehensive review of the relevant literature.

Donor-Derived Conjunctival-Limbal Melanoma After a Keratolimbal Allograft

PURPOSE

To report a single case of donor-derived conjunctival-limbal melanoma that occurred after a keratolimbal allograft (KLAL).

METHODS

Case report and literature review.

RESULTS

A 56-year-old white woman with a history of bilateral limbal stem cell deficiency developed a donor-related melanoma after a KLAL. Three months after undergoing an uncomplicated KLAL, the patient presented with hemorrhagic nodules within her conjunctiva and transplanted tissue. Excisional biopsy was performed, and the pathology results revealed melanoma cells. Although the donor of the KLAL had a history of metastatic melanoma, the ocular tissue was in compliance with all eye bank requirements for donation. After discovery of the tumor, the patient's systemic immunosuppression was stopped. Within 1 week, the patient demonstrated a dramatic improvement in the size of the lesion. One month after the initial biopsy, the KLAL tissue was excised, and a pathology report revealed that there were no viable tumor cells on the ocular surface. As the limbal stem cell deficiency recurred, the eye underwent placement of a Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis.

CONCLUSIONS

We present a case of conjunctival-limbal melanoma after a KLAL from a donor who had a history of metastatic melanoma. In response to this case, the US eye banking guidelines were amended to include stricter parameters for vascularized ocular tissue transplantation.

Conjunctival Metastasis of a Cutaneous Melanoma

Purpose

To report a patient who presented with a conjunctival tumour as a first sign of distant metastasis of cutaneous melanoma. The patient was treated successfully with BRAF/MEK-inhibitors and anti-PD-1 antibodies.

Methods

Clinical and histopathological examination of the conjunctival lesion.

Results

A 74-year-old man was referred to our hospital with a pigmented conjunctival tumour, 5 months after having been diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma on his right scapula with loco-regional axillary lymph node metastases. The conjunctival lesion was excised and showed a BRAF V600E mutation. Histopathology showed a melanoma with characteristics suspicious for metastasis, as the lesion did not have a relation with the overlying epithelium. Systemic screening showed multiple distant metastases of the cutaneous melanoma in spleen, liver, and bone. Systemic treatment with the combination of a BRAF-inhibitor (dabrafenib) and MEK-inhibitor (trametinib) was started and followed by a switch to an anti-PD-1 antibody (pembrolizumab). Twenty-two months later, the patient is alive and in good clinical health.

Conclusion

Conjunctival metastases of cutaneous melanoma may mimic primary conjunctival melanoma. A good medical history and systemic work-up are required to differentiate these diseases. Identification of the proper diagnosis including mutation analysis is crucial, allowing patients to benefit from newly introduced treatment strategies for metastatic cutaneous melanoma.

Pseudomelanomas of the posterior uveal tract: the 2006 Taylor R. Smith Lecture

PURPOSE

To determine the types and frequency of lesions that clinically simulate choroidal or ciliary body melanoma (posterior uveal melanoma; PUM).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A review was conducted on cases of patients referred to the ocular oncology service from October 1978 through September 2003 with the diagnosis of possible PUM but who were subsequently diagnosed by the authors to have a simulating lesion rather than PUM. The type and percent of pseudomelanomas were tabulated and compared with findings of a similar study from our service on data collected before 1978.

RESULTS

There were approximately 12,000 patients referred because of a lesion believed to be a PUM during the 25 years included in the data collection. Of these patients, 1,739 (14%) were found to have a simulating condition. There were 54 different conditions that simulated melanoma. The most frequent condition was choroidal nevus, accounting for 851 cases (49%) of the pseudomelanomas. This was followed by peripheral exudative hemorrhagic chorioretinopathy (139 cases; 8%), congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (108 cases; 6%), hemorrhagic detachment of the retina or pigment epithelium (86 cases; 5%), circumscribed choroidal hemangioma (79 cases; 5%) and age-related macular degeneration (76 cases; 4%). Compared with the 1980 report, the rate of pseudomelanomas diagnosed as choroidal nevus increased from 26% to 49%.

CONCLUSION

A variety of lesions can simulate PUM. Suspicious choroidal nevus is still the lesion most difficult to differentiate from PUM. Most other pseudomelanomas account for a lower percent compared with findings from the prior study, suggesting that clinicians are now more familiar with the other pseudomelanomas and less likely to refer them to rule out PUM.