[Intraocular tumor diagnosed two years after perforating trauma]

CASE REPORT

We describe the unusual diagnosis of a ciliary body medulloepithelioma by histopathology of a subretinal membrane obtained from vitreoretinal surgery of a 10-year-old boy. The patient had a history of perforating trauma OS 2 years earlier, and both fundus exam and B-scan ultrasound revealed only a retinal detachment with a subretinal membrane. No detectable mass was present.

DISCUSSION

The membrane removed from underneath the peripheral retina revealed a blue cell tumor confirmed by histopathology and immunohistochemistry to be a primitive neuroectodermal tumor. Currently, the patient has been followed for 5 years with no signs of recurrence.

The effect of a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor on the proliferation rate of retinoblastoma cell lines

PURPOSE

To examine the effect of nepafenac, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, on the proliferation rate of two human retinoblastoma (Rb)cell lines.

METHODS

Two human Rb cell lines (WERI-RB and Y79) were cultured. COX-2 expression in these cell lines was verified by immunocytochemical analysis of cytospin sections and Western blotting. An MTT-based proliferation assay was used to compare Rb cell growth with and without amfenac, the active metabolite of nepafenac. The averaged results per condition were recorded. The Student's t-test was used to compare results from the cells cultured with and without amfenac.

RESULT

The Y79 cell line showed a higher proliferative rate than the WERI-RB cell line. Both cell lines were negative for COX-2 expression by immunocytochemical analysis; however, both cell lines were positive for COX-2 expression by Western blot. When amfenac was added to both of the cell lines, a statistically significant reduction in proliferation was observed in both cell lines. The two Rb cell lines were positive for COX-2 only in the Western blot, indicating that they probably express low levels of COX-2, which was undetectable by immunocytochemical analysis.

CONCLUSION

The selective, anti-COX-2 molecule amfenac inhibited proliferation of both tested Rb cell lines. Further trials should be undertaken to study the effect of selective COX-2 inhibitors on Rb.