Uveal metastatic disease: current and new treatment options (review)

Choroidal metastasis represents the most common form of intraocular malignancies. It may occur in up to 10% of patients with systemic metastasis with almost half of the patients developing central nervous system disease. The most common primary sites of ocular metastasis are breast cancer in women and lung cancer in men. In most cases, these lesions tend to be asymptomatic and are not evaluated by an ophthalmologist. The diagnosis is generally made by the history of present or prior malignancies and an ophthalmological examination with slit-lamp biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy. As with other malignancies, management may vary with each patient. Small tumors, that do not compromise the vision and that have responded previously to systemic treatment, may be closely observed. For larger lesions and for symptomatic ones, external beam radiation offers an excellent alternative to save the eye and stabilize vision. Bevacizumab (Avastin), a potent monoclonal antibody that has also been employed for the treatment of ocular vaso-proliferative diseases, has been used in the treatment of choroidal metastasis and has shown promising results.