Malignant Epiretinal Membrane After Proton Beam Radiation of Ciliary Body Melanoma.

PURPOSE: To report the development of malignant epiretinal membrane after radiation of ciliary body melanoma.

CASE REPORT: A 65-year-old woman was referred for evaluation of a ciliary body tumor in her right eye. On examination, a pigmented ciliary body tumor, displacing the iris anteriorly, was visible superotemporally and ultrasound biomicroscopy revealed a large solid ciliary body tumor. She was diagnosed with ciliary body melanoma and treated with proton beam radiation. Over the following 29 months, the treated tumor regressed but optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed the development of a dense epiretinal membrane. Enucleation was performed and histopathological examination showed viable melanoma cells in the vitreous cavity with sheet-like growth of viable spindle melanoma cells on the epiretinal surface.

CONCLUSION

The development of a pigmented epiretinal membrane in eyes with uveal melanoma should raise the possibility of a malignant epiretinal membrane.