VITREOUS METASTASIS OF LARYNGEAL CARCINOMA PRESENTING AS A WHITE MASS: A CASE REPORT

A case of a vitreous opacity identified as a white inferiorly located vitreous mass is reported. Vitreous surgical biopsy revealed that it was vitreous metastasis of laryngeal carcinoma.

A 56-year-old man on immune chemotherapy for laryngeal carcinoma presented to the hospital with photopsia in his left eye for 2 weeks.

Slit-lamp examination revealed 0.5+ cells in the anterior chamber and 0.5+ cells in the vitreous humor in the left eye. The optic nerve papilla was normal in both eyes, although slight macular edema was present in the left eye. A white mass formed by a vitreous opacity precipitated at the inferior of the left fundus. Owing to ongoing systemic treatment, the patient was unable to make frequent visits to ophthalmology, and the second visit occurred 1 month after the initial examination. Fundus angiography revealed retinal vasculitis in the left eye. Two months after the initial visit, tractional retinal detachment with retinal hemorrhage occurred. Therefore, a 25-gauge lens vitrectomy was performed immediately. Histopathologic examination of the vitreous obtained intraoperatively revealed atypical squamous cells identified as a vitreous metastasis of laryngeal carcinoma.

Vitreous metastasis of laryngeal carcinoma had not been previously reported. On initial examination, there were few findings other than a white friable mass presenting as a vitreous opacity precipitating at the inferior of the fundus. Vitreous opacity in patients with carcinoma should be considered a potential indicator of metastatic tumors.