Trends in the Clinical Presentation of Uveal Melanoma During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to evaluate factors associated with clinical presentation of uveal melanoma (UM) during the initial two years of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

This was a multi-site, retrospective cohort study of patients treated for uveal melanoma during the first (early) and second (late) year of the pandemic compared with the year prior (control).

RESULTS

A total of 48, 67, and 75 patients were in the control, early, and late cohorts, respectively. The early cohort had a higher frequency of large tumors (control: 29.2%, early: 40.3%, late: 29.3%; P < 0.001) at presentation. Both the early and late cohorts had higher rates of enucleation (control: 8.33%, early: 20.9%, late: 18.67%; P ≤ 0.0338) compared to the control cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

While there was an increase in large tumors along with a rise in enucleation during the first year of the pandemic, enucleation rates remained elevated even while tumor sizes normalized. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2024;55:278-284.].