Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

Living Edition
| Editors: Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth, Thomas Kohnen

Uveal Melanoma

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_1135-1
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Synonyms

Choroidal and/or ciliary body and/or iris melanoma; Intraocular melanoma; Ocular melanoma

Definition

Uveal melanomas arise from uveal melanocytes distributed throughout the stroma of the choroid, ciliary body, and iris. Malignant melanomas often develop from preexisting nevi.

Etiology

Uveal melanoma’s etiology is poorly understood, but risk factors for uveal melanoma include pigmentation factors (light iris and complexion, propensity to sunburn), the presence of cutaneous and iris nevi (Seddon and McCannell 2013), and ocular or oculodermal melanocytosis. Genetic mutations including mutations in GNAQ or GNA11 have been demonstrated in greater than 80% of primary uveal melanomas (Harbour and Chao 2014).

Clinical Presentation

Diagnostics

The diagnosis of uveal melanoma is usually made based upon fundoscopic examination in conjunction with ultrasound and fluorescein angiography. Immediate treatment after diagnosis is routine. Until recently, biopsy was generally not indicated....

Keywords

Ciliary Body Uveal Melanoma Proton Irradiation Choroidal Melanoma Ocular Melanoma 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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References

  1. Cassoux N, Rodrigues MJ, Plancher C, Asselain B, Levy-Gabriel C, Lumbroso-Le Rouic L, Piperno-Neumann S, Dendale R, Sastre X, Desjardins L, Couturier J (2014) Genome-wide profiling is a clinically relevant and affordable prognostic test in posterior uveal melanoma. Br J Ophthalmol 98:769–774CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
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  3. Ganguly A, Richards-Yutz J, Ewens KG (2014) Molecular karyotyping for detection of prognostic markers in fine needle aspiration biopsy samples of uveal melanoma. In: Thurin M, Marincola FM (eds) Molecular diagnostics for melanoma. Methods and protocols. Springer Science, New York, pp 441–458CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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  6. Harbour JW, Chao DL (2014) A molecular revolution in uveal melanoma. Implications for patient care and targeted therapy. Ophthalmology 121:1281–1288CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  7. Lane AM, Gragoudas ES (2007) Uveal malignant melanoma: management options – proton beam radiotherapy. In: Singh AD, Damato BE, Pe’er J, Murphree AL, Perry JD (eds) Clinical ophthalmic oncology. Saunders Elsevier, Philadelphia, pp 248–253CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Seddon JM, McCannell TA (2013) Epidemiology of posterior uveal melanoma. In: Ryan SJ (ed) Retina, 5th edn. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 2231–2237CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Evangelos Gragoudas
    • 1
  • Anne Marie Lane
    • 1
  • Ivana Kim
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Ophthalmology, Retina ServiceMassachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUSA