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1. What is uveal melanoma?
It is a rare cancer that develops within the eyeball in a tissue called the uvea. It is subdivided into iris, ciliary body, and choroidal melanoma depending on the tumor location.
2. How common is uveal melanoma?
About 6 people out of a million population develop uveal melanoma. It affects 2000 to 2500 Americans per year.
3. What causes uveal melanoma?
There is no known cause. Diet, lifestyle, occupation, and stress are not known causes. This cancer is not familial.
4. What age group does uveal melanoma affect?
All age are at risk, but this cancer most often affect middle aged people with a peak age at 55 years. Only 1% of patients are younger than 20 years old.
5. Is uveal melanoma affected by race?
Caucasians with fair complexions are more likely to develop uveal melanoma than African Americans, Indians, and Asians.
6. Can uveal melanoma occur in both eyes?
It typically only affects one eye.
7. What condition predisposes for
uveal melanoma?
Patients with one blue and one brown eye are at risk for melanoma in the brown eye. This condition is called oculodermal melanocytosis or nevus of Ota. Patients with skin melanoma or dysplastic nevus syndrome are not proven to have a higher risk for uveal melanoma, but they should get their
eyes examined.
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8. How is uveal melanoma diagnosed?
Most cases are identified by an ophthalmologist with eye examination and then tests are used to confirm the diagnosis.
9. What kind of treatment is available for
uveal melanoma?
Treatment varies depending on the
individual and the tumor. Treatments
include enucleation, plaque radiotherapy,
laser photocoagulation, transpupillary thermotherapy, surgical resection or combinations of above treatment.
10. Are there different kinds of uveal melanoma?
There are two basic cell types of melanoma as seen with the microscope. These are spindle and epithelioid. Most melanomas have a combination of these 2 cell types. Only if the eye is removed or the tumor resected can the doctor judge the cell type. Melanomas with predominantly spindle cells have thin elongated cells and imply better prognosis. Epithelioid cell type melanoma have round cells and imply worse prognosis.
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