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Updated: May 10, 2026
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Published on: August 9, 2024
Ciliary body medulloepithelioma: analysis of 41 cases
Swathi Kaliki1, Carol L Shields2, Ralph C Eagle3
1Ocular Oncology Service, Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The Department of Pathology, Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Ocular Oncology Service, Hyderabad, India.
Purpose:
To describe the clinical features, histopathology, treatment, and outcomes of ciliary body medulloepithelioma.
Design:
Retrospective study.
Participants:
Forty-one patients with medulloepithelioma.
Intervention:
Cryotherapy, plaque radiotherapy, external beam radiotherapy, tumor removal by partial lamellar sclerouvectomy (PLSU), or enucleation.
Main Outcome Measures:
Metastasis and death.
Results:
Of 41 patients with ciliary body medulloepithelioma, the median age at diagnosis was 5 years. The mean tumor basal diameter was 11 mm, and the mean tumor thickness was 7 mm. Related features included secondary glaucoma (n = 18, 44%), iris neovascularization (n = 21, 51%), cataract (n = 19, 46%), lens subluxation (n = 11, 27%), lens coloboma (n = 8, 20%), retrolental neoplastic cyclitic membrane (n = 21, 51%), intratumoral cysts (n = 25, 61%), and extraocular extension (n = 4, 10%). There was systemic association with pleuropulmonary blastoma in 2 cases (5%). Primary tumor treatment included enucleation (n = 21, 60%), tumor removal by PLSU (n = 8, 23%), plaque radiotherapy (n = 3, 9%), external beam radiotherapy (n = 1, 3%), cryotherapy (n = 1, 3%), or palliative chemotherapy (n = 1, 3%). In 1 case, medulloepithelioma was diagnosed histopathologically after inadvertent evisceration for blind painful eye. Subsequent treatment for residual or recurrent tumor in cases treated conservatively/inappropriately (n = 15) was necessary in 7 cases (47%). Histopathology disclosed benign features in 6 cases (20%), malignant features in 24 cases (80%), teratoid features in 11 cases (37%), and nonteratoid features in 19 cases (63%). In the 26 enucleated eyes, other features included retrolental neoplastic cyclitic membrane (n = 18, 69%), neoplastic epiretinal membrane (n = 6, 23%), and persistent hyaloid artery (n = 6, 23%). Systemic metastasis occurred in 3 cases (8%) over a mean follow-up of 49 months, all of whom presented with extrascleral extension of tumor due to mean delay in diagnosis by 39 months.
Conclusions:
Medulloepithelioma most commonly occurs in children. Systemic association with pleuropulmonary blastoma rarely is found. Patients with extrascleral medulloepithelioma are at risk for metastasis.
