Have choroidal and ciliary body melanomas changed during the period 1955-2000?

PURPOSE: To establish whether the presentation of choroidal and ciliary body melanomas and patient survival have changed during the period 1955-2000.

METHOD: The study included 209 unselected patients (97 men, 112 women) from Arhus County during the period 1955-2000. The median age at treatment was 64 years (range 26-88 years). The disease course from first symptom through clinical and histopathological findings to death was described in a historical follow-up design. Time trends were evaluated.

RESULTS

Treatment modality changed over time from enucleation to an almost equal distribution between enucleation and radiation brachytherapy. The age at treatment, or, alternatively, at diagnosis, increased significantly (p = 0.04). No significant time trend was seen for largest basal tumour diameter (p = 0.08) or tumour height (p = 0.27). The clinical and histopathological findings did not show any consistent time trends. No significant time trend was found for melanoma-specific survival (p = 0.96) or overall survival (p = 0.33).

CONCLUSION

No consistent time trends were seen in clinical and histopathological tumour presentation and survival in patients with choroidal or ciliary body melanomas. The increase in age at treatment was in line with an increase in life expectancy in Denmark.