Bilateral choroidal melanomas. Case report and incidence
H. F. Shammas and R. C. Watzke
A 55-year-old woman had bilateral choroidal melanoma. To our knowledge,
this is the second reported case in the United States. To calculate the
incidence of bilateral cases, we determined the incidence of unilateral
choroidal and ciliary body melanomas among the white population in Iowa. We
also studied the incidence of these melanomas by different age and sex
groups. One of 2,500 whites will develop a choroidal melanoma during his or
her lifetime. Based on these values and those of life expectancy in
patients harboring a choroidal melanoma, we calculated the risks of
developing a second primary melanoma in the other eye. In a population of
50 million whites, 1 person will develop a bilateral choroidal melanoma
during his or her lifetime. In other words, a bilateral case is expected to
occur once every 18 years in the United States.
