Primary choroidal melanoma in a patient with previous cutaneous melanoma
J. J. Scull, C. E. Alcocer, J. Deschenes and M. N. Burnier Jr
Department of Opthalmology, Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec.
A 67-year-old woman with a history of a skin melanoma that was excised 7
years previously had a 6-month history of decreased vision in her right
eye. A choroidal melanoma was diagnosed clinically, and the eye was
enucleated. The results of a histopathological examination revealed a
primary uveal melanoma. Slides of the skin melanoma were obtained, and the
initial diagnosis was confirmed. In an attempt to illustrate a biological
difference between the 2 melanomas, immunohistochemical studies were
performed on sections of the 2 specimens using S-100 protein, HMB-45, and
S-100-beta. Primary cutaneous and choroidal melanomas appearing in a
patient with no predisposition are rare; this is believed to be only the
fifth such case reported in the literature.
