Malignant Melanoma of the Choroid in the Eye With Oculodermal Melanocytosis of a Chinese Woman

• Main Authors: Ya-Chi Chen, Cheng-Hsien Chang, Shiuh-Liang Hsu, Min-Wen Hsu, Chia-Ling Lee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2010-12-01
• Series: Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences
• Subjects: malignant choroid melanoma; Nevus of Ota; oculodermal melanocytosis
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1607551X10701030
• ISSN: 1607-551X

In this study, we report a rare case of choroidal melanoma in an eye with oculodermal melanocytosis (Nevus of Ota). A 56-year-old Taiwanese woman with oculodermal melanocytosis in the right eye was found to have an ipsilateral uveal melanoma. Histopathology of the enucleated eye confirmed the diagnosis of malignant choroidal melanoma of mixed cell type. A search of the literature revealed strong evidence that oculodermal melanocytosis can predispose to the development of uveal melanoma in Caucasians. Only seven such cases have been reported in the East Asian population. This is believed to be the first such reported case in a patient of Chinese descent.