Uveal melanoma | |
---|---|
Other names | Intraocular melanoma [1] |
Iris melanoma | |
Specialty | Oncology |
Symptoms | A sensation of flashes or specks of dust (floaters); growing dark spot on the iris; change in the shape of the pupil; poor or blurry vision in one eye; loss of peripheral vision in one eye. |
Complications | Retinal detachment |
Usual onset | Visual abnormalities |
Types | choroid, iris, and ciliary body |
Diagnostic method | clinical examination by biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy |
Differential diagnosis | For choroid: choroidal tumors, especially choroidal nevus, metastatic tumors, choroidal hemangioma, and osteoma; hemorrhagic conditions like AMD and hemorrhagic choroidal detachment; retinal tumors such as congenital retinal pigment epithelium hypertrophy and retinal pigment epithelium adenocarcinoma; and inflammatory lesions like posterior scleritis. For iris: iris nevus, iris pigment epithelial cyst, iris stromal cyst, metastatic tumor of the iris, melanocytoma, iris atrophy and Cogan-Reese syndrome. For ciliary body: staphyloma, medulloepithelioma and leiomyoma. |
Prevention | Reduce UV exposure to the eye. |
Treatment | Brachytherapy, enucleation, proton beam radiotherapy, transpupillary thermotherapy, photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, and local resection. |
Frequency | 5 cases per million people per year [2] |
Uveal melanoma is a type of eye cancer in the uvea of the eye. [3] It is traditionally classed as originating in the iris, choroid, and ciliary body, but can also be divided into class I (low metastatic risk) and class II (high metastatic risk). [3] Symptoms include blurred vision, loss of vision, and photopsia, but there may be no symptoms. [4]
Tumors arise from the pigment cells that reside within the uvea and give color to the eye. These melanocytes are distinct from the retinal pigment epithelium cells underlying the retina that do not form melanomas. When eye melanoma is spread to distant parts of the body, the five-year survival rate is about 15%. [5]
It is the most common type of primary eye cancer. [3] Males and females are affected equally. [6] More than 50% spread, mostly to the liver. [6]
Ocular melanoma may present without symptoms depending upon the location and size of the tumor. When symptoms do occur, they can include: [7]
Uveal melanomas, often referred to by the media and in the general population as ocular melanomas, may arise from any of the three parts of the uvea, and are sometimes referred to by their location, choroidal melanoma, ciliary body melanoma, or iris melanoma. Large tumors often encompass multiple parts of the uvea and can be named accordingly. True iris melanomas, originating from within the iris as opposed to originating elsewhere and invading the iris, are distinct in their etiology and prognosis, such that the other tumors are often referred to collectively as posterior uveal melanomas.
Uveal tumors can originate from melanocytes residing within the iris. Benign melanocytic tumors, such as iris freckles and moles (nevi), are common and pose no health risks, unless they show signs of malignancy, in which case they are classified as iris melanomas. Though derived from uveal melanocytes, iris melanomas share more in common with cutaneous (skin) melanomas in that they frequently harbor BRAF mutations associated with ultraviolet damage. [8] [9] Iris melanomas are much less likely to metastasize than other uveal melanomas, and less likely to impair vision if detected and treated early. Approximately 5% of uveal melanomas involve the iris. [10]
Benign melanocytic tumors of the choroid, such as choroidal freckles and nevi, are very common and pose no health risks, unless they show signs of malignancy, in which case they are considered melanomas. [11] [12] Uveal melanoma is distinct from most skin melanomas associated with ultraviolet exposure; however, it shares several similarities with non-sun-exposed melanomas, such as acral melanomas and mucosal melanomas. BRAF mutations are extremely rare in posterior uveal melanomas; [13] instead, uveal melanomas frequently harbor GNAQ/GNA11 mutations, a trait shared with blue nevi, nevus of Ota, and ocular melanosis. [14] [15] As seen in BRAF, mutations in GNAQ/GNA11 are early events in tumorigenesis and are not prognostic for tumor stage or later metastatic spread. [16] In contrast, mutations in the gene BAP1 are strongly linked to metastatic spread and patient survival. [17] Incidence of posterior uveal melanoma is highest among people with light skin and blue eyes. Other risk factors, such as blue light exposure and arc welding, have been put forward, but are still debated in the field. Mobile phone use is not a risk factor for uveal melanoma. [18]
The cause of uveal melanoma is unclear. Uveal nevi are common (5% of Caucasians), [19] but rarely progress to melanoma.
Because there are no lymphatic channels to the uveal tract, metastasis occurs through local extension and/or blood-borne dissemination. [20] The most common site of metastasis for uveal melanoma is the liver; [21] the liver is the first site of metastasis for 80%-90% of ocular melanoma patients. [22] Other common sites of metastasis include the lung, bones, and just beneath the skin (subcutaneous). Approximately 50 percent of patients will develop metastases within 15 years after treatment of the primary tumor, and the liver will be involved 90% of the time. [23] Metastasis can occur more than 10 years after treatment of the primary tumor, and patients should not be considered cured even after a 10-year interval of monitoring. [24] Molecular features of the tumor, including chromosome 3 status, chromosome 6p status, and chromosome 8q status and gene expression profiling (such as the DecisionDx-UM test), can be used to adjust this likelihood of metastasis for an individual patient.
The average survival time after diagnosis of liver metastases depends on the extent of systemic spread. The disease-free interval, the performance status, the liver substitution by metastases and the serum level of lactic dehydrogenase are the most important prognostic factors for metastatic uveal melanoma. [25] There is currently no cure for metastatic uveal melanoma.
The treatment protocol for uveal melanoma has been directed by many clinical studies, the most important being The Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS). [26] The treatment varies depending upon many factors, chief among them the size of the tumor and results from testing of biopsied material from the tumor. Primary treatment can involve removal of the affected eye (enucleation); however, this is now reserved for cases of extreme tumor burden or other secondary problems. Advances in radiation therapies have significantly decreased the number of patients treated by enucleation in developed countries.
The most common radiation treatment is plaque brachytherapy, in which a small disc-shaped shield (plaque) encasing radioactive seeds (most often iodine-125, though ruthenium-106 and palladium-103 are also used) is attached to the outside surface of the eye, overlying the tumor. The plaque is left in place for a few days and then removed. The risk of metastasis after plaque radiotherapy is the same as that of enucleation, suggesting that micrometastatic spread occurs prior to treatment of the primary tumor.
Proton therapy delivers powerful doses of radiation to the tumor while sparing surrounding healthy eye tissue. The treatment is also effective at controlling tumor growth and maintaining a patient's natural eye.
On January 25, 2022, the FDA approved tebentafusp (Kimmtrak) for adult HLA-A*2-positive patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. Approval was based on the IMCgp100-202 trial (NCT03070392), which compared tebentafusp with investigator's choice of either dacarbazine, pembrolizumab or ipilimumab. Patients lived a median of 16 months when treated with investigator's choice of therapy, compared to a median 21.7 months with tebentafusp. This translated in a 49% reduction in the risk of death. Overall survival after one year of treatment was 59% in the control group, versus 73% in the tebentafusp group. [27]
Other modalities of treatment include transpupillary thermotherapy, resection of the tumor, gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery, or a combination of different modalities. Different surgical resection techniques can include trans-scleral partial choroidectomy and transretinal endoresection.
A 2017 analysis of genomic data led to a new analysis of clinical subtyping in uveal melanoma. [28] Ocular melanoma expert Professor Sarah Coupland, in 2018, suggested cautious optimism as new types of targeted therapeutics are tested and approved. [29] [ needs update ]
When eye melanoma is spread to distant parts of the body, the five-year survival rate is about 15%. [5]
Several clinical and pathological prognostic factors have been identified that are associated with higher risk of metastasis of uveal melanomas. These include large tumor size, ciliary body involvement, presence of orange pigment overlying the tumor, and older patient age. [30] [31] Likewise several histological and cytological factors are associated with higher risk of metastasis, including presence and extent of cells with epithelioid morphology, presence of looping extracellular matrix patterns, increased infiltration of immune cells, [21] and staining with several immunohistochemical markers. [32]
The most important genetic alteration associated with poor prognosis in uveal melanoma is inactivation of BAP1, which most often occurs through mutation of one allele and subsequent loss of an entire copy of chromosome 3 (monosomy 3) to unmask the mutant copy. [17] Because of this function in inactivation of BAP1, monosomy 3 correlates strongly with metastatic spread [33] Where BAP1 mutation status is not available, gains on chromosomes 6 and 8 can be used to refine the predictive value of the monosomy 3 screen, with gain of 6p indicating a better prognosis and gain of 8q indicating a worse prognosis in disomy 3 tumors. [34] In rare instances, monosomy 3 tumors may duplicate the BAP1-mutant copy of the chromosome to return to a disomic state referred to as isodisomy. [35] Thus, isodisomy 3 is prognostically equivalent to monosomy 3, and both can be detected by tests for chromosome 3 loss of heterozygosity. [36] Monosomy 3, along with other chromosomal gains, losses, amplifications, and LOH, can be detected in fresh or paraffin-embedded samples by virtual karyotyping.
The most accurate prognostic factor is molecular classification by gene expression profiling of uveal melanomas. This analysis has been used to identify two subclasses of uveal melanomas: class 1 tumors that have a very low risk of metastasis, and class 2 tumors that have a very high risk of metastasis. [37] [38] Gene expression profiling outperforms all of the above-mentioned factors at predicting metastatic spread of the primary tumor, including monosomy 3. [39] [40] [41]
Currently, there is no consensus regarding type or frequency of scans following diagnosis and treatment of the primary eye tumor.
Of the 50% of patients who develop metastatic disease, more than 90% of patients will develop liver metastases. As such, the majority of surveillance techniques are focused on the liver. These include abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), abdominal ultrasound and liver function tests. The scientific community is currently working to develop guidelines, but until then, each patient must take into consideration their individual clinical situation and discuss appropriate surveillance with their doctors. [42]
Some ophthalmologists have also found promise with the use of intravitreal avastin injections in patients with radiation-induced retinopathy, a side effect of plaque brachytherapy treatment, as well as imaging surveillance with SD-OCT.
Uveal melanomas are the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults. [21] Uveal melanoma is classified as a rare cancer with 5.1 cases per million people per year. [43] The incidence has remained stable for several years.
There are about 2500 patients with UM diagnosed annually in the US. [44]
In 2018, it was reported that two clusters of cases have been identified in Huntersville, North Carolina, and Auburn, Alabama. Cases involved alumni of Auburn University who were acquainted with each other. Health officials investigated and found that the "cluster" is an artifact of social networking. [45] [46] [47]
Uveal melanoma was first described in the literature in 1809-1812 by two Scottish surgeons, Allan Burns and James Wardrop. [48]
Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, are metastases (mets). It is generally distinguished from cancer invasion, which is the direct extension and penetration by cancer cells into neighboring tissues.
The choroid, also known as the choroidea or choroid coat, is a part of the uvea, the vascular layer of the eye. It contains connective tissues, and lies between the retina and the sclera. The human choroid is thickest at the far extreme rear of the eye, while in the outlying areas it narrows to 0.1 mm. The choroid provides oxygen and nourishment to the outer layers of the retina. Along with the ciliary body and iris, the choroid forms the uveal tract.
Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye. In women, melanomas most commonly occur on the legs; while in men, on the back. Melanoma is frequently referred to as malignant melanoma. However, the medical community stresses that there is no such thing as a 'benign melanoma' and recommends that the term 'malignant melanoma' should be avoided as redundant.
Papillary thyroid cancer is the most common type of thyroid cancer, representing 75 percent to 85 percent of all thyroid cancer cases. It occurs more frequently in women and presents in the 20–55 year age group. It is also the predominant cancer type in children with thyroid cancer, and in patients with thyroid cancer who have had previous radiation to the head and neck. It is often well-differentiated, slow-growing, and localized, although it can metastasize.
An eye neoplasm is a tumor of the eye. A rare type of tumor, eye neoplasms can affect all parts of the eye, and can either be benign or malignant (cancerous), in which case it is known as eye cancer. Eye cancers can be primary or metastatic cancer. The two most common cancers that spread to the eye from another organ are breast cancer and lung cancer. Other less common sites of origin include the prostate, kidney, thyroid, skin, colon and blood or bone marrow.
Ciliary body melanoma is a type of cancer arising from the coloured part (uvea) of the eye.
A metastasis suppressor is a protein that acts to slow or prevent metastases from spreading in the body of an organism with cancer. Metastasis is one of the most lethal cancer processes. This process is responsible for about ninety percent of human cancer deaths. Proteins that act to slow or prevent metastases are different from those that act to suppress tumor growth. Genes for about a dozen such proteins are known in humans and other animals.
BRCA1 associated protein-1 is a deubiquitinating enzyme that in humans is encoded by the BAP1 gene. BAP1 encodes an 80.4 kDa nuclear-localizing protein with a ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase (UCH) domain that gives BAP1 its deubiquitinase activity. Recent studies have shown that BAP1 and its fruit fly homolog, Calypso, are members of the polycomb-group proteins (PcG) of highly conserved transcriptional repressors required for long-term silencing of genes that regulate cell fate determination, stem cell pluripotency, and other developmental processes.
Cixutumumab (IMC-A12) is a human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of solid tumors.
Virtual karyotype is the digital information reflecting a karyotype, resulting from the analysis of short sequences of DNA from specific loci all over the genome, which are isolated and enumerated. It detects genomic copy number variations at a higher resolution for level than conventional karyotyping or chromosome-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The main methods used for creating virtual karyotypes are array-comparative genomic hybridization and SNP arrays.
A brain metastasis is a cancer that has metastasized (spread) to the brain from another location in the body and is therefore considered a secondary brain tumor. The metastasis typically shares a cancer cell type with the original site of the cancer. Metastasis is the most common cause of brain cancer, as primary tumors that originate in the brain are less common. The most common sites of primary cancer which metastasize to the brain are lung, breast, colon, kidney, and skin cancer. Brain metastases can occur months or even years after the original or primary cancer is treated. Brain metastases have a poor prognosis for cure, but modern treatments allow patients to live months and sometimes years after the diagnosis.
Vemurafenib (INN), sold under the brand name Zelboraf, is a medication used for the treatment of late-stage melanoma. It is an inhibitor of the B-Raf enzyme and was developed by Plexxikon.
Selumetinib (INN), sold under the brand name Koselugo, is a medication for the treatment of children, two years of age and older, with neurofibromatosis type I (NF-1), a genetic disorder of the nervous system causing tumors to grow on nerves. It is taken by mouth.
DecisionDx-UM is a prognostic test that accurately determines the metastatic risk associated with ocular melanoma tumors of the eye. Ocular melanoma is a term commonly used to describe tumors of the uveal tract such as uveal melanoma, choroidal melanoma, ciliary body melanoma, and iris melanoma. The DecisionDx-UM test was clinically validated on these tumors of the uveal tract. DecisionDx-UM assesses the gene expression profile (GEP) of a subset of genes which are differentially expressed in primary tumor cells compared to cells that have undergone transformation to a metastatic phenotype.
A cancer biomarker refers to a substance or process that is indicative of the presence of cancer in the body. A biomarker may be a molecule secreted by a tumor or a specific response of the body to the presence of cancer. Genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, glycomic, and imaging biomarkers can be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and epidemiology. Ideally, such biomarkers can be assayed in non-invasively collected biofluids like blood or serum.
Binimetinib, sold under the brand name Mektovi, is an anti-cancer medication used to treat various cancers. Binimetinib is a selective inhibitor of MEK, a central kinase in the tumor-promoting MAPK pathway. Inappropriate activation of the pathway has been shown to occur in many cancers. In June 2018 it was approved by the FDA in combination with encorafenib for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic BRAF V600E or V600K mutation-positive melanoma. In October 2023, it was approved by the FDA for treatment of NSCLC with a BRAF V600E mutation in combination with encorafenib. It was developed by Array Biopharma.
J. William Harbour is an American ophthalmologist, ocular oncologist and cancer researcher. He is Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He previously served as the vice chair and director of ocular oncology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and associate director for basic science at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine.
Vaginal melanoma is a rare malignancy that originates from melanocytes in the vaginal epithelium. It is also known as a melanocytic tumor or as a malignant melanoma. It is aggressive and infrequently cured. The median overall survival is 16 months. Vaginal melanoma accounts 5.5% of all vaginal cancers and only 1% of all melanomas diagnosed in women. Vaginal melanomas are frequently diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease. The prognosis is poor and the most important risk factor is the presence of lymph node metastases.
Sarah Coupland is an Australian-born pathologist and professor who is the George Holt Chair in Pathology at the University of Liverpool. Coupland is an active clinical scientist whose research focuses on the molecular genetics of cancers, with particular interests in uveal melanoma, conjunctival melanoma, intraocular and ocular adnexal lymphomas and CNS lymphoma. Coupland is also an NHS Honorary Consultant Histopathologist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Since 2006, Coupland has been head of the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Group; from which she runs a multidisciplinary oncology research group focussing on Uveal melanoma, based in the Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine at the University of Liverpool. Her research laboratory is currently located in the Institute of Translational Medicine From April 2014 to December 2019, Coupland was also Director of the North West Cancer Research Centre, @UoL. In both 2019 and 2020, Coupland was included on the 'Pathology Powerlist' on The Pathologist website.
Choroidal nevus is a type of eye neoplasm that is classified under choroidal tumors as a type of benign (non-cancerous) melanocytic tumor. A choroidal nevus can be described as an unambiguous pigmented blue or green-gray choroidal lesion, found at the front of the eye, around the iris, or the rear end of the eye.