Uveal metastasis revealing lung cancer

Uveal metastases (UM) are the most common intraocular malignancies and can be the first manifestation of a disseminated disease. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency with which uveal metastasis results in a diagnosis of lung cancer, to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with lung cancer metastatic to the uvea, as well as diagnostic difficulties that may be encountered.

We carried out a single-center retrospective study of the medical records of all patients who presented with a UM between 1999 and 2010 at the institut Curie in Paris. From these patients, we retrospectively studied UM secondary to lung cancer. A work-up including thoracic-abdominal-pelvic CT was performed for each patient in whom the primary source of choroidal metastasis was unknown.

Of 109 patients presenting with UM, 43 were diagnosed with primary lung cancer (39.4%). Of those 43 patients, the UM was observed prior to the lung cancer in 31 patients (72.1%). Demographic data included 61% male and 39% female, mean age 59.1 years (range: 31-78), and mean life expectancy after diagnosis of UM was 7.5 months (range: 0.7-29). Other metastatic sites were associated with UM in 90.7% of the patients. In all, 90.7% of the patients presented with blurred vision, and 25.6% with pain or inflammation. UM were located within the choroid for 39 patients (90.7%), the iris for three patients (7.3%) and the vitreous for one patient. Seventy percent of patients had a solitary lesion, 76.7% had unilateral involvement, and 23.3% of cases were bilateral. Mean thickness on B-scan ultrasonography was 3.61 mm (range: 1-8.5 mm). In all, 81.4% of UM were unpigmented, while 18.6% showed pigment mottling. In all, 20.9% of patients were referred with the diagnosis of choroidal melanoma from their regular ophthalmologist, and three of the 43 patients (6.9%) were initially misdiagnosed and treated for melanoma at Curie. Chest X-ray was unremarkable in 18.9% of patients.

UM is often the first manifestation of disseminated disease and requires a search for the primary tumor, in particular lung cancer. Standard chest X-ray cannot rule out the diagnosis. Metastases may be solitary with heterogenous pigmentation, and the differential diagnosis from uveal melanoma may be difficult, requiring the expertise of a referral center.