Incidence and Risk Factors for Secondary Glaucoma in Eyes with Uveal Melanoma.

PURPOSE: To estimate incidence of and analyze risk factors for developing secondary glaucoma in eyes with uveal melanoma before and after diagnosis. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, population-based cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred eighty-one patients (median age, 64 years; range, 14-93) consecutively diagnosed with uveal melanoma from 1997 to 2012 in a national ocular oncology service, 708 (91%) of whom received ruthenium (50%) or iodine (50%) brachytherapy. METHODS: Patient, tumor, treatment, and follow-up data were collected prospectively. Frequency and associations of melanoma-related glaucoma at tumor diagnosis were assessed. Incidence of developing secondary glaucoma after diagnosis was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Independent risk factors were modeled using Cox regression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Melanoma-related glaucoma and related risk factors. RESULTS: Forty-five patients (5.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.2-7.6) had tumor-related secondary glaucoma at diagnosis, 34 (76%) from a narrow-to-closed angle (25 had direct angle invasion) and 10 (22%) from anterior neovascularization. Synchronous metastases were common in patients with initial secondary glaucoma (11% vs. 1.2% with incident glaucoma, P = 0.005). Patients with secondary glaucoma were often male (58% vs. 48% without glaucoma; P = 0.010) and had larger tumors (median thickness, 9.1 vs. 4.0 mm; P < 0.001) involving the ciliary body (43% vs. 21%; P < 0.001) with retinal detachment (53% vs. 30%; P < 0.001). One hundred and sixty-eight patients 165 of which were treated with brachytherapy developed incident tumor- or treatment-related secondary glaucoma a median of 1.7 years (range, 0.1-13.6) after tumor diagnosis. Cumulative proportion of developing secondary glaucoma was 23% (95% CI, 20-27) at 5 years. The most common mechanism was neovascularization in 119 patients (71%; 95% CI, 63-78). By multivariable regression, initial retinal detachment 3 to 4 quadrants (hazard ratio [HR], 2.18; P < 0.001), initial intraocular pressure 17 mmHg or higher (HR, 1.64; P = 0.01), and tumor thickness predicted incident secondary glaucoma. CONCLUSIONS: Secondary glaucoma at initial uveal melanoma diagnosis predicts high risk of synchronous metastases. Although anterior neovascularization is the most common mechanism for secondary glaucoma after diagnosis, other mechanisms such as angle narrowing and anterior chamber hemorrhage are not infrequent. Initial retinal detachment and intraocular pressure with tumor thickness could inform interim assessments of intraocular pressure and neovascularization.

Ring melanoma of the anterior chamber angle as a mimicker of pigmentary glaucoma.

A 19-year-old man noticed blurred vision in his right eye. He had an intraocular pressure of 60 versus 12 mmHg in the fellow eye. He was initially diagnosed with an atypical, advanced pigmentary glaucoma. The intraocular pressure did not respond to maximal medication, deep sclerectomy, goniopuncture, and 2 cyclophotocoagulations. Sixteen months after presentation, malignancy was first suspected, and the eye was enucleated. A ring melanoma of the anterior chamber angle was confirmed by the histopathologic examination. Normal nuclear staining for breast cancer 1 gene (BRCA1)-associated protein 1 suggested that the tumor was likely of disomy 3 type with a favorable prognosis. No local or systemic recurrence has developed within 4 years. A literature review of this rare type of minimal volume diffuse uveal melanoma identified 18 additional patients. The initial diagnosis in 18 of the 19 patients with a ring melanoma of the anterior chamber angle was unilateral glaucoma with a median intraocular pressure of 40 mmHg and an age range of 16-76 years. Liver metastasis developed in 5 of 12 patients older than 45 years. This rare subtype is estimated to account for 0.05%-0.16% of all uveal melanomas.