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Choroidal
melanoma is the most common primary intraocular (occurring inside
the eye) tumor in adults. It arises from the pigmented cells of the choroid of the eye and is not a tumor that started somewhere else
and spread to the eye.
A choroidal
melanoma is malignant. It is a cancer that may metastasize and
spread to other parts of the body. Because choroidal
melanoma is intraocular and not usually visible, patients with this
disease often do not recognize its presence until the tumor grows to
a size that impairs vision by obstruction, retinal detachment,
hemorrhage, or other complication. Pain is unusual, except with
large tumors.
Periodic retinal
examination through a dilated pupil is the best means of early
detection. Few people realize that your eye doctor (a trained
ophthalmologist, not an optometrist) can save your
life by detecting this problem in its early stages.
A
gray, dome-shaped choroidal melanoma seen on the back of the eye.
There is orange pigment, subretinal fluid, and thickness greater
than 2 mm: all consistent with choroidal melanoma.
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