The persisting pseudomelanoma problem
M. Chang, L. E. Zimmerman and I. McLean
We reviewed 6,169 cases in which whole eyes were submitted to the Armed
Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Washington, DC, between January 1970
and December 1980. We sought to determine whether there had been any change
in the frequency of incorrect diagnoses of malignant melanoma since two
previous studies had been conducted at the AFIP. Of 744 eyes with clear
media submitted with the clinical diagnosis of malignant melanoma, the rate
of incorrect diagnosis was 6.4% (48 of 744 cases). During the 11-year
study, the rate of incorrect diagnoses declined from 12.5% to 1.4%. Despite
that overall decrease, the locations and frequency of simulating lesions
were comparable with those found in the two previous studies. We believe
our current findings reflect a significant increase in diagnostic accuracy
among clinicians practicing outside of major academic centers.
