Bilateral choroidal melanomas. Case report and incidence.

A 55-year-old woman had bilateral choroidal melanoma. To our knowledge, this is the second reported case in the United States. To calculate the incidence of bilateral cases, we determined the incidence of unilateral choroidal and ciliary body melanomas among the white population in Iowa. We also studied the incidence of these melanomas by different age and sex groups. One of 2,500 whites will develop a choroidal melanoma during his or her lifetime. Based on these values and those of life expectancy in patients harboring a choroidal melanoma, we calculated the risks of developing a second primary melanoma in the other eye. In a population of 50 million whites, 1 person will develop a bilateral choroidal melanoma during his or her lifetime. In other words, a bilateral case is expected to occur once every 18 years in the United States.