Ocular melanoma: Keep your eyes open for late brain metastases

The most frequent intraocular malignant tumor is choroidal melanoma (CM). Although brain metastasis is a common feature of other types of cancers, metastasis of CM to the brain is a rare entity.

The authors report a case of a 28-year-old woman presenting with a single brain metastasis, 10 years after the treatment of a CM. She underwent a total en-bloc resection of the lesion, and the diagnosis was confirmed histopathologically. The patient concomitantly received whole-brain irradiation therapy combined with chemotherapy, with a survival period of 24 months.

The present case report draws attention to the necessity of a close and lifelong follow-up of patients treated for this malignancy. The international literature is also reviewed.