Skip to main content
PMC home page
The British Journal of Ophthalmology logoLink to The British Journal of Ophthalmology
. 1998 Feb;82(2):159–161. doi: 10.1136/bjo.82.2.159

Choroidal metastases and choroidal melanomas: comparison of ultrasonographic findings

B Sobottka 1, T Schlote 1, H Krumpaszky 1, I Kreissig 1
PMCID: PMC1722472  PMID: 9613382

Abstract

AIMS—The purpose of the study was to analyse, whether the shape and the height to base ratio in B-scan ultrasonography are appropriate to differentiate choroidal melanomas from metastases.
METHODS—Between 1991 and 1996 16 eyes of 16 patients with choroidal metastases from breast carcinomas and 66 eyes of 66 patients with choroidal melanomas were evaluated ultrasonographically. The diagnosis of choroidal melanoma has been confirmed histologically in all eyes. Irradiated tumours were excluded from the study. Fisher's exact test and χ2 test were used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS—Choroidal metastases demonstrated a significantly lower height to base ratio in B-scan (mean 0.18, SD 0.08) than melanomas (mean 0.6 (0.16); p < 0.001). A polygonal tumour surface was significantly more frequent in metastases (13 out of 16 metastases and in six out of 66 melanomas, p < 0.001). A choroidal excavation could be demonstrated in 38 melanomas and in no metastatic tumour (p < 0.001). The reflectivity was significantly higher in metastases than in melanomas.
CONCLUSION—The combined use of height to base ratio and reflectivity enables a highly significant discrimination between choroidal melanomas and metastases from the breast, thus probably constituting appropriate variables for the clinical differentiation.

 Keywords: choroidal melanoma; choroidal metastasis; ultrasonography

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (106.4 KB).

Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

Open in a new tab

Comparison of metastases and melanomas concerning reflectivity (%) and height to base ratio demonstrates a significant different distribution pattern.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Coleman D. J., Abramson D. H., Jack R. L., Franzen L. A. Ultrasonic diagnosis of tumors of the choroid. Arch Ophthalmol. 1974 May;91(5):344–354. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1974.03900060356002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ferry A. P., Font R. L. Carcinoma metastatic to the eye and orbit. I. A clinicopathologic study of 227 cases. Arch Ophthalmol. 1974 Oct;92(4):276–286. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1974.01010010286003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Fuller D. G., Snyder W. B., Hutton W. L., Vaiser A. Ultrasonographic features of choroidal malignant melanomas. Arch Ophthalmol. 1979 Aug;97(8):1465–1472. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1979.01020020127008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Goldberg M. F., Hodes B. L. Ultrasonographic diagnosis of choroidal malignant melanoma. Surv Ophthalmol. 1977 Jul-Aug;22(1):29–40. doi: 10.1016/0039-6257(77)90026-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Nelson C. C., Hertzberg B. S., Klintworth G. K. A histopathologic study of 716 unselected eyes in patients with cancer at the time of death. Am J Ophthalmol. 1983 Jun;95(6):788–793. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(83)90066-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ossoinig K. C., Bigar F., Kaefring S. L. Malignant melanoma of the choroid and ciliary body. A differential diagnosis in clinical echography. Bibl Ophthalmol. 1975;(83):141–154. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Perri P., Chiarelli M., Monari P., Ravalli L., Mazzeo V. Choroidal metastases. Echographic experience from 42 patients. Acta Ophthalmol Suppl. 1992;(204):96–98. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1992.tb04937.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Stephens R. F., Shields J. A. Diagnosis and management of cancer metastatic to the uvea: a study of 70 cases. Ophthalmology. 1979 Jul;86(7):1336–1349. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(79)35393-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Turner C. E., Barth G. P., Brown M. A., Champion M., Clark T., Gregg F. M., Gruenberg B. C., Keene C. H., McCaffrey H., McCombs C. E., McCurdy J. H., Nesbitt C. T., Peterson A. E., Shaw E. A. Report of the Committee on School Health Program. Am J Public Health (N Y) 1922 Mar;12(3):207–211. doi: 10.2105/ajph.12.3.207. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Verbeek A. M. Differential diagnosis of intraocular neoplasms with ultrasonography. Ultrasound Med Biol. 1985 Jan-Feb;11(1):163–170. doi: 10.1016/0301-5629(85)90019-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Verbeek A. M., Thijssen J. M., Cuypers M. H., Brink H., Deutman A. F. Echographic classification of intraocular tumours. A 15-year retrospective analysis. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh) 1994 Aug;72(4):416–422. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1994.tb02788.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Wertheimer R., Maier M., Hofmann H. M., Stanowsky A., Weiss M. Karzinoidtumor der Lunge. Eine ungewöhnliche Form der okulären Metastasierung. Ophthalmologe. 1993 Oct;90(5):522–527. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. van Gool C. A., Thijssen J. M., Verbeek A. M. B-mode echography of choroidal melanoma; echographic and histological aspects of choroidal excavation. Int Ophthalmol. 1991 Sep;15(5):327–334. doi: 10.1007/BF00128952. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of Ophthalmology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES