Management of patients with uveal metastases at the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Centre.

BACKGROUND: Uveal metastasis is the most common intraocular malignancy. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of all patients with uveal metastases referred to the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Centre between January 2007 and December 2012. Biopsy was performed as a primary investigation if the clinical examination suggested metastasis with no evidence of any extraocular metastases. RESULTS: Ninety-six patients (109 eyes) were included. Breast and lung carcinomas were the most common primary malignancies, affecting 41 and 27 patients, respectively. The median time interval between detection of primary cancer and uveal metastasis was 24 months (range 1-288 months). Thirty-nine patients underwent ocular biopsy, confirming the diagnosis in all patients. The biopsy indicated the site of origin in 24 out of the 27 without a known primary tumour. In 7 of these 27 cases, previous systemic investigations had failed to identify the primary tumour. Seventy-three patients received external beam irradiation; two patients received photodynamic therapy; and two patients had Ru-106 plaque radiotherapy. The visual acuity was stable or improved in 75.5% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Immediate biopsy provides a quick diagnosis that may expedite treatment and improve any opportunities for conserving vision while facilitating the general oncologic management on these patients.

Extraocular extension of uveal melanoma after fine-needle aspiration, vitrectomy, and open biopsy.

IMPORTANCE: The most potentially devastating complication of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) or open biopsy is extraocular extension of the tumor. In this collaborative case series, we report 4 cases of orbital recurrence of malignant melanoma as a late complication of biopsy and/or vitrectomy performed at referring institutions and then sent to us for evaluation. OBSERVATIONS: Four cases of extraocular extension of melanoma are documented following multiple procedures including FNAB, vitrectomy, and open biopsies. Three of the patients in this series underwent more than 1 FNAB, biopsy, and/or vitrectomy. One underwent FNAB only but did not undergo brachytherapy afterward. Most of the FNABs, open biopsies, and vitrectomies reported in these cases were not performed by us, so details of the technique are not available. From these cases, we are not able to determine whether the FNAB or additional invasive procedures caused the subsequent extraocular disease or if growth of the tumor into the extraocular space occurred independent of or prior to the procedures. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Large series of FNAB for uveal melanoma with no extraocular recurrence have been reported by multiple experienced centers, and the vast majority of these procedures are performed without effect on the patient's prognosis. However, the patients described in this series demonstrate that this complication is rarely possible.