[Prognostically relevant markers of malignant melanoma of the uvea]

In addition to classic risk factors such as tumor size, tumor location, and histological cell type, a range of other potentially prognostic parameters have been discovered in the past few years. Many of these have only been described once so that they cannot be considered established markers. A few, however, such as vascular patterns or monosomy 3, were independently identified by several groups and now constitute recognized prognostic markers. The association of these factors with the disease course provides us with ever-new insights into the biology of this tumor. In particular, with the aid of new technologies such as microarray analysis, researchers around the globe hope that new and exciting discoveries will be made that can also modify therapy concepts.