Prognosis in metastatic choroidal melanoma.

We reviewed the records of 73 patients with primary melanoma of the choroid and ciliary body with metastasis treated at M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute between 1973 and 1979. At time of diagnosis of primary melanoma 71 of 73 patients had tumor localized to the eye and were treated with enucleation of the affected eye. The interval from resection of primary tumor to detection of systemic metastases in the 71 patients ranged from one to 201 months (median 43.5 months). Weight loss and abdominal pain due to hepatomegaly were the most common symptoms, and hepatomegaly was the most common physical sign. The liver was the most common site of tumor recurrence, occurring in 44 of 71 patients. Among liver enzymes, serum lactic dehydrogenase was found to be the most sensitive indicator of liver metastasis and was elevated in 96% of patients with tumor in the liver. Liver involvement with tumor was associated with poor response to chemotherapy and significantly poorer survival than involvement of other extracranial sites. The survival duration from time of development of systemic metastasis ranged between one and 31 months (median seven months), with a one-year survival rate of 29%. The median survival of patients from diagnosis of ocular melanoma was 52 months, with a five-year survival rate of 43%.