Purpose: To describe the clinical findings and prognosis of conjunctival malignant melanomas.
Subjects: We investigated the clinical findings and prognosis of 11 cases of conjunctival malignant melanomas diagnosed and treated at Tokyo Medical University Hospital.
Results: The mean age at presentation was 62.3 years, male/female ratio was 6/5. Cases arose from primary acquired melanosis (PAM) in 45% of the patients, from conjunctival nevus in 9%, from both conjunctival nevus and PAM in 27% and de novo in 18%. In all cases local resection was performed with either adjuvant cryotherapy, or similar methods for diagnosis and treatment. Postoperative local recurrence was detected in 45% of the patients. According to the Kaplan-Meier survival curve, local recurrence at 2 years is 38%. Total surgical excision of the tumor was performed for recurrent lesions. Three cases were treated with systemic chemotherapy following surgical excision for metastasis.
Conclusion: A combination of surgical excision with adjuvant therapy has been used for the treatment of conjunctival melanoma. A more effective therapeutic strategy is required because of the high rate of recurrence and metastasis seen in this study.
Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi (J Jpn Ophthalmol Soc) 116: 503-509, 2012.