This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on Web of Science (1)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Ocular/ Adnexal Tumors  • Dermatology  • Melanoma  • Prognosis/ Outcomes  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

A Long-term Study

Esther N. M. Overkleeft, MS; Wieke Zuidervaart, MD; H. Monique H. Hurks, PhD; Paul H. C. Eilers, PhD; Didi de Wolff-Rouendaal, MD, PhD; Martine J. Jager, MD, PhD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2003;121:1398-1403.

Objective  To evaluate whether nuclear activity as measured by the disodium phosphate ³²P (³²P) uptake test for uveal melanoma is of prognostic value and corresponds to known prognostic factors.

Methods  A retrospective analysis of 121 patients with choroidal and/or ciliary body melanoma, tested with the ³²P uptake test before enucleation between January 1, 1973, and December 31, 1976, at the Leiden University Medical Center. We obtained the 25-year follow-up information of this group of patients and compared the ³²P test results and histopathological variables with the long-term survival rates.

Results  The cumulative 5-, 10-, and 20-year survival for melanoma-related death was 81.4%, 73.3%, and 63.9%, respectively. The results of the ³²P uptake test were not significantly correlated with survival (P = .35). Of all prognostic factors under study, tumor diameter, cell type, and mitotic count were identified as the most important prognostic markers for uveal melanoma in this group.

Conclusions  The ³²P isotope uptake test has no prognostic value for uveal melanoma. Moreover, the results of this study indicate that it is unlikely that cell activity as determined by ³²P uptake involves mitotic activity of the tumor.

From the Departments of Ophthalmology (Ms Overkleeft and Drs Zuidervaart, Hurks, de Wolff-Rouendaal, and Jager) and Medical Statistics (Dr Eilers), Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. The authors have no relevant financial interest in this article.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?