A Case of Binocular Metastatic Choroidal Tumor Originating from Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma Successfully Treated with Molecular Target Therapy
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Implantation and Evaluation of Melanoma in the Murine Choroid via Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: December 2, 2022
Masataka Yamaoka1, Tsutomu Igarashi1,2, Naka Shiratori1
1Department of Ophthalmology Nippon Medical School Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
The occurrence of ocular metastasis from lung cancer is uncommon. In our current case, we report on a 64-year-old male patient found to have metastatic lesions in both choroids after being diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma. As the patient was found to have a mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), he was treated with the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR TKI), afatinib. However, the treatment response suggested the presence of a progressive disease. Thus, due to cancerous meningitis, the patient's treatment was changed from afatinib to erlotinib, in addition to adding bevacizumab. Although the general condition of the patient did not change, improvement was noted for the choroidal metastasis. Moreover, the drug change also resulted in an improvement of the visual power of both eyes. Therefore, the results for this patient suggest that systemic administration of erlotinib and bevacizumab may be an effective treatment that leads to morphological and functional improvement in choroidal metastasis cases.
Insights
This case study shows that combining erlotinib and bevacizumab may effectively treat ocular metastasis in lung cancer patients with EGFR mutations. This treatment improved both vision and choroidal lesions.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Medical Research
Background:
- Ocular metastasis from lung cancer is rare.
- Lung adenocarcinoma can metastasize to the choroid.
- EGFR mutations are common in lung adenocarcinoma.

