A simple, efficient, and reproducible method for estimating the malignant potential of uveal melanoma from routine H...

The malignant potential of 100 intraocular melanomas was assessed by determining the mean of the ten largest nucleoli (MTLN) using a modification of previously described techniques. For each microslide, a five millimeter path through the central portion of the tumor was traversed on a manually controlled mechanical stage. Selected nucleoli in this area were measured at 2000x power using a digital filar micrometer. In their reproducibility and correlation with malignant potential, these measurements proved comparable to standard deviation of nucleolar area (SDNA), which has been well documented as an objective histologic predictor of mortality from intraocular melanoma. This new method for measuring MTLN requires less than 11 minutes per case, compared to an average of 28 minutes for the original method. The measurements of SDNA required approximately 40 minutes per case and a much more elaborate system than that needed for MTLN.