Malignant melanoma of the choroid in the nevus of Ota of a black patient

N. A. Nik, W. B. Glew and L. E. Zimmerman

To our knowledge, this report is the first description of an association of a choroidal melanoma in the nevus of Ota in a black patient. While white patients who have the nevus of Ota appear to be predisposed to the development of a malignant melanoma, this complication is rare in all nonwhite racial groups. Nevertheless, it should be realized that regardless of the patient's race, there is a greater than normal chance that a patient with the nevus of Ota might have a malignant melanoma develop within one of the affected tissues.