Uveal melanoma in the first 4 decades of life

According to reports in the clinical literature, metastatic uveal melanoma in young adults has not been well studied. This article describes the clinical characteristics and natural history of patients who were diagnosed as having uveal melanoma in the first 4 decades of life.

This was a chart review of patients aged 40 years or younger who were treated for metastatic uveal melanoma. The eligibility criteria included an established diagnosis of primary uveal melanoma that was treated with localized plaque radiation therapy or enucleation, the presence of radiologically confirmed systemic tumor metastasis, and available therapy and follow-up information. Sixty-five patients met the eligibility criteria and were included in our study.

The interval between the time of diagnosis of the primary tumor to the diagnosis of systemic metastasis and the median survival duration from diagnosis of the primary and metastatic disease were significantly longer than were those of patients with uveal melanoma patients overall.

Patients with uveal melanoma who are diagnosed within the first 4 decades of life have a better prognosis than do patients with uveal melanoma overall; however, the prognosis of patients with metastatic uveal melanoma remains poor.