Correlation of histological tumor vascularization and Doppler sonography in patients with malignant melanoma of the choroid

In previous studies Doppler sonography was proven to the useful for diagnostics and follow-up of malignant melanomas of the choroid. To evaluate the correlation between Doppler sonographical findings and the histological tumor vascularization, we examined five eyes of five patients with malignant melanoma of the choroid before enucleation with an ATL Ultramark-8 Duplex scanner and compared these results with computerized planimetry of histological tumor vascularization after immunohistochemical staining of vascular endothelium with anti-factor-VIII antibodies. We found no definite correlation of flow velocities with histological parameters of tumor vascularization. The tendency was for a decrease in maximum flow velocities as histological vascularization increased. Due to (1) the usual lack of sensitivity parameters of the used Duplex device for the clinical user and (2) the unpredictable branching pattern within a melanoma resulting in an unknown angle of incidence of the Doppler beam, we conclude that the quantitative results of Doppler sonography require cautious interpretation. Nevertheless, presence or absence of Doppler shifts is a valuable parameter for the follow-up of irradiated tumors.