Tele-Oncology: A Validation Study of Choroidal and Iris Nevi

To evaluate teleophthalmological assessment of choroidal and iris nevi (tele-oncology) compared to traditional in-person clinical evaluation for detection of either axial or basal growth.

This is a validation study. All 97 eyes of 99 patients were evaluated with an in-person ocular oncology visit utilizing standard testing, and subsequently had a tele-oncology evaluation with the standardized tests. The tele-oncology reviewer was blinded to the in-person examination findings. The primary study outcome was detection of nevus growth on tele-oncology compared to in-person clinical examination.

Patients had a mean age of 61 years and the majority had nevi located in the choroid (n = 87; 88%). The most common diagnosis was a low-risk nevus (n = 38; 44%). By tele-oncology assessment, 11 eyes showed growth. Ten of these patients had growth confirmed on in-person clinical examination. Resultantly, tele-oncology assessment of choroidal and iris nevi growth had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 99%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 91%, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 100%.

The results of this study suggest that tele-oncology is a safe platform for monitoring choroidal and iris nevi for growth, with excellent sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV.