Prevalence of ocular and oculodermal melanocytosis in Spanish population with uveal melanoma

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ocular and oculodermal melanocytosis (ODM) among patients with uveal melanoma (UM) in a Spanish population. Methods Retrospective review of the medical records of patients with ODM among patients with UM. Results Ten (11 eyes) of 400 patients (2.7%) with UM associated had ODM. The mean age at diagnosis of UM among patients with ODM was 62 years. One patient had bilateral tumours. UM was diagnosed during a routine-examination in two cases. All tumours were medium (7/11) or large (4/11) in size, with a mean maximum base of 13 mm and height of 7 mm. No patient had extraocular extension or metastatic disease at diagnosis. Enucleation was done in five cases and I-125-brachytherapy in six. The mean follow-up was 43 months. One patient died because of metastasis 2 years after enucleation; one patient is currently on treatment of systemic metastasis 11 years after. Conclusions ODM is more frequent in spanish population with UM than in American population. Despite the risk of UM in ODM, it is often diagnosed late when a conservative treatment is not indicated.