Incidence of surgically treated uveal melanoma by race and ethnicity

The purpose of the study was to determine the race- and ethnicity-specific incidence of histologically confirmed uveal melanoma.

The study design was a retrospective study of histologically confirmed cases of primary uveal melanoma submitted to the Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS).

Race-, gender-, and Hispanic-specific incidence rates of uveal melanoma were measured. Calculations are based on Florida census data and Hispanic population estimates from the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

From 1981 through 1993, 873 histologically confirmed uveal melanomas were reported to the FCDS. Four melanomas occurred in black non-Hispanics, 47 in white Hispanics, and none in black Hispanics. The relative risk of uveal melanoma for blacks compared to non-Hispanic whites was 0.03 (95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.08). Non-Hispanic white men had 72 times the risk of uveal melanoma compared to black men; non-Hispanic white women experienced a 22-fold risk compared to black women. White Hispanics were less likely to develop uveal melanoma than white non-Hispanics (relative risk, 0.36; 95% confidence interval, 0.27-0.48).

The risk of uveal melanoma in blacks is exceptionally low. The reason for lower risk of uveal melanoma in white Hispanics than in white non-Hispanics is not known but could be related to the protective effects associated with dark skin pigmentation or may be because of unknown cultural-environmental exposures or socioeconomic factors.