Choroidal melanoma – diagnosis and treatment

Choroidal melanoma is a type of eye cancer that is formed from the choroid cells which are pigmented, and this type of tumor is primary, meaning that it is not spread onto the choroid cells, yet it is arisen from the particular cells themselves. It is unnecessary to stress out how serious this condition is, however, it is important to accentuate the notion that not all types of chroidal melanomas are malignant and life-threatening. Still, the doctors exert caution and they tend to approach the treatment as it is a malignant type of cancer every time a positive diagnosis has been established. The melanoma of the choroid can be diagnosed by specialized ophthalmology examination. The doctor can determine the melanoma by noticing the pigmentation grade of the tumor, its location and its shape as well as the other unusual features observed through the course of the examination. Contrasting to the fact that the tumors in other parts of the body need specialized equipment and medical tools in order to be visible, choroidal melanomas are directly observable through the "windows of the soul" of the patient. In the vast majority of the cases, the ophthalmologists can be almost 100% sure of the established diagnosis from the clinical exam, the appearance as well as the ultrasound pictures. Therefore, in case of suspicion of melanoma of the choroid the need for biopsy is redundant.

The specialized test for diagnosing a choroidal melanoma

In case the ophthalmologist suspects of the possibility of choroidal melanoma, in accordance with the oncologist, he may order several types of specialized test which can show whether the diagnosis is true or not. These tests are ultrasound or medically dubbed as echography and fluorescein angiography. During the echography test, the tumor is being examined with the help of the probe, (located on top of the eyeball), through which the doctor directs series of sound waves. The pattern that is created from the reflection of the directed sound waves is an excellent tool from which the doctor can draw conclusions. Fluorescein angiography is also a highly helpful test. The sole purpose of this test is to determine the shape, the exact location and the stage of the tumor.

Positive diagnosis of choroidal melanoma

When the positive diagnosis of choroidal melanoma has been established, the next step is to determine its progression rate. This means that the doctor must determine whether it is a benign or malignant tumor and how quick is its progression rate. In case the tumor is dormant, the doctor may advise against any kind of aggressive therapy, however, for fear that the tumor is malignant, the doctors advise the patient to consider enucleation.

Choroidal melanoma and enucleation

Patients who have been diagnosed with a malignant type of choroidal melanoma are advised to subject themselves for enucleation, which is a medical term for eye removal. Although it sounds radical, it is the only way to stop the patient from total loss of vision (on the both eyes) and spread of the cancer cells throughout the whole body, in which the death is the only outcome.