[Clinical and paraclinical course of melanocytoma of the optic disk. Contribution of spectral- and time-domain OCT in the study of 10 patients].

INTRODUCTION

Melanocytoma of the optic disk is a rare, benign, slow-growing tumor. We analyzed the clinical and paraclinical features of melanocytomas followed at the Fort-de-France University Hospital to expose and compare characteristics from new clinical imaging.

PATIENTS AND METHOD: This was a prospective study of 10 patients with a melanocytoma of the optic disk. The principal features studied were the ophthalmoscopic findings, the visual field defects, fluorescein angiography features, and the comparison between standard time-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) characteristics and the latest spectral-domain OCT findings.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients at diagnosis was 49.2 years. All the patients were from the French West Indies. The lesion was discovered incidentally in 90% of the cases. Visual acuity was normal in 70% of the cases. Visual field defects were present at the first visit in 80% of the cases. Tumor growth was monitored in 50% of the cases during a mean follow up of 4.8 years. The in-depth extension into chorioretina and laterally into the retina were better visualized in spectral-domain OCT than in time-domain OCT as hyperreflective granular dots.

CONCLUSION

Optic disk melanocytoma appears to be a singular benign tumor that is seen more frequently in dark-skinned patients. Most melanocytomas do not cause significant visual impairment but can show substantial growth in size for many years of follow-up. A malignant transformation is always to fear in case of atypical development. Spectral domain OCT seems to be an important tool in the assessment of extension and follow-up.