Importance of multimodal imaging diagnostics in acute angle closure glaucoma: Case report

To describe the natural history and management of an acute angle closure secondary to choroidal melanoma. A 70-year-old female presented with pain, elevated intraocular pressure, mature cataract, and angle closure in right eye. With further studies she was found to have a choroidal melanoma causing the acute angle closure. Enucleation was performed and the patient is currently in close postoperative surveillance by ophthalmology and oncology. The importance of early identification and treatment of intraocular tumors to decrease incidence of metastasis. In secondary acute angle-closure glaucoma treatment should be targeted towards resolving the triggering factor of glaucoma.

Impact of COVID-19 on a rare disease (uveal melanoma) in a national reference unit of intraocular tumors in Spain

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and management of uveal melanoma (a tumor included in the Orphanet catalog of rare diseases) in a Spanish national reference unit for intraocular tumors during the first year of the pandemic.

METHOD

An observational retrospective study of patients with uveal melanoma in the National Reference Unit for Adult Intraocular Tumors of the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid (Spain) was performed, analyzing the pre- and post-COVID-19 periods: from March 15, 2019 to March 15, 2020 and from March 16, 2020 to March 16, 2021. Demographic data, diagnostic delay, tumor size, extraocular extension, treatment and evolution were collected. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify factors that were associated with the variable: enucleation.

RESULTS

Eighty-two patients with uveal melanoma were included, of which 42(51.21%) belonged to the pre-COVID-19 period and 40(40.78%) to the post-COVID-19 period. An increase in tumor size at diagnosis and in the number of enucleations was observed during the post-COVID-19 period (p < 0.05). Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that both medium-large tumor size and patients diagnosed in the post-COVID-19 period were independently related to an increased risk of enucleation (OR 250, 95%CI, 27.69-2256.37; p < 0.01 and OR 10; 95%CI, 1.10-90.25; p = 0.04, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The increase in tumor size observed in uveal melanomas diagnosed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic may have favored the increase in the number of enucleations performed during that period.

Identification of extraocular extension in uveal melanoma by ophthalmological ultrasound

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary malignant intraocular tumour in the adult population, with a survival rate of 50% despite advances in treatment and knowledge of this disease. The presence of extraocular extension (EE) worsens the prognosis of these patients, so its proper identification can ensure its management and early intervention. Ophthalmological ultrasound is the technique of choice for the diagnosis and follow-up of these patients, both of the anterior EE using ultrasonic biomicroscopy (UBM), and the posterior EE using A and B ultrasound. The aim of this study is to describe the ultrasound characteristics of the BMU and the A and B ultrasound.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A descriptive and retrospective study is carried out on patients diagnosed with uveal melanoma (UM) and EE from 2003 to 2019. The ultrasound characteristics of the local disease and the follow-up after treatment were recorded completely and at each visit. In the case of anterior EE, photographs of the anterior segment and UBM were taken, while those involving the posterior segment were explored under A and B mode ultrasound. All enucleated eyes were sent for anatomopathological study.

RESULTS

Ten patients with an average age of 72.3 years were included. The largest proportion of them were medium-sized tumours, followed by large and small ones. The most frequent morphology of the primary tumour was cupuliform. All the EE presented lower internal reflectivity compared to the primary tumour. No trans-scleral connection bridges were found between the primary tumour and the EE in the ultrasound studies. 50% of patients underwent primary enucleation at the time of diagnosis of intraocular MU due to the presence of the EE, and the remaining 50% presented the EE after initial treatment of the primary tumour with I125 brachytherapy. Sixty percent of the patients presented with posterior EE, and were therefore diagnosed with ultrasound A and B. The most frequent histopathological pattern with 87.5% of patients was the epithelioid pattern.

DISCUSSION

Ultrasound scanning in patients with MU is mandatory for diagnosis and follow-up of EE. BMU and A and B ultrasound are the test of choice for anterior and posterior EE, respectively. EE have particular ultrasound characteristics such as low internal reflectivity, regularity of their contour and their location usually adjacent to the base of the primary intraocular tumor.

Amelanotic iris melanoma in a 7 year-old hispanic boy with subclinical globe perforation

We report an unusual case of an amelanotic melanoma in a 7 year old hispanic child with subclinical globe perforation. Uveal melanoma rarely occurs in children. Young affected patients are mostly light-colored eye Caucasian adolescents. Since they are not common, these tumors are usually not recognized and misdiagnosed. Differential diagnoses and therapeutic options are outlined.

Ultrasound, histopathological, and genetic features of uveal melanoma in a Mexican-Mestizo population

OBJECTIVE

To describe the ultrasound, histopathological and genetic characteristics of uveal melanoma in a Mexican-Mestizo population.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 39 enucleated eyes with a histopathological diagnosis of uveal melanoma were assessed by describing the clinical findings, and ultrasound, histopathological and genetic features.

RESULTS

A high correlation was observed between tumour height measurement using ultrasound and histopathology. In our cases, tumour size and reflectivity were higher compared with those reported in the literature. The preliminary data on the molecular assessment of the tumours show the presence of an unreported polymorphism (T>C IVS5+34) and one sample with GNAQ mutation (A>C CAA>CCA Gln 209 Pro).

CONCLUSION

Ultrasound is a reliable method to identify the size of the tumour. Furthermore, knowledge of the molecular mechanisms promises new perspectives for the development of new targeted therapeutics. Fortunately this leads to progress in the treatment of patients with metastatic disease or prevents it in those at high risk.

[Iris mammillations. Three case reports]

CLINICAL CASES

We report the cases of 3 young patients who were seen in our hospital with the diagnosis of iris mammillations. Two of them were bilateral without familial association. The third child had iris mammillations as part of an ocular melanocytosis. None of them had abnormalities in the posterior segment or the pachymetry.

DISCUSSION

The discovery of iris mammillations during an examination requires a long term follow up of these patients due to its association with uveal melanoma. This is required whether it is a casual discovery or in the presence of ocular melanocytosis.

[Uveal melanoma: clinical characteristics, treatment and survival in a series of 500 patients]

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the clinical features, treatment and survival of uveal melanoma patients diagnosed in a referral Intraocular Tumours Unit over a twenty-year period.

METHODOLOGY

A prospective study was performed including five hundred patients, diagnosed between January 1992 and December 2011. Clinical tumour characteristics and treatment were collected in a database in Microsoft@ Access@. The numeric variables were expressed as means of frequency and standard deviation, and the quantitative variables using frequency tables.

RESULTS

The mean age of the sample was 62.19 years, with 51.2% females, and 64.2% presented with symptoms. The tumours were small in 31.12% of cases, and large in 23.09%, according to COMS criteria. Hazel green was the iris colour in 42.2% of the cases. The initial treatment was episcleral brachytherapy in 42.4% of the total. The overall mortality rate was 17% and 31.3%, and melanoma-related mortality rate was 11.6% and 14.8%, at 5 and 10 years, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

In the serie studied melanomas were more frequent in women, and a higher proportion of darker irides were observed than in other previous studies. Most of the tumours were diagnosed when they became symptomatic and in the early or medium stages, allowing conservative therapies to be used, with brachytherapy being the predominant treatment. The melanoma-related mortality appeared to be lower than previously data published. However, further studies are required on the factors influencing survival.