S. Seregard et al., PREVALENCE OF PRIMARY ACQUIRED MELANOSIS AND NEVI OF THE CONJUNCTIVA AND UVEA IN THE DYSPLASTIC NEVUS SYNDROME - A CASE-CONTROL STUDY, Ophthalmology, 102(10), 1995, pp. 1524-1529
Purpose: To investigate whether conjunctival and uveal nevi and primar
y acquired melanosis are more common in individuals with the dysplasti
c nevus syndrome than in control subjects derived from the general pop
ulation. Methods: Power calculations were used to determine the sample
size. After invitation, 162 individuals with the dysplastic nevus syn
drome and 119 control subjects, matched for sex and age but otherwise
randomized from the Stockholm county census file, were entered into th
e study. All individuals were examined in a masked fashion by the same
ophthalmologist, and the presence of conjunctival and uveal melanocyt
ic lesions and the iris color, skin type, and hair color of each indiv
idual were recorded. Contingency tables and odds ratios were used for
statistical evaluation. Results: The proportions of individuals with t
he dysplastic nevus syndrome featuring primary acquired melanosis of t
he conjunctiva, or nevi of the iris and choroid were not significantly
different from those of control subjects. However, individuals with t
he dysplastic nevus syndrome appeared to have a more sun-sensitive ski
n type and a reddish or blond hair color more often than control subje
cts. Conclusion: In contrast to previous reports, this study suggests
that ocular melanocytic lesions are no more common in individuals with
the dysplastic nevus syndrome than in the general population. Therefo
re, this work does not provide support that periodic ophthalmic survei
llance of individuals with the dysplastic nevus syndrome for the purpo
se of detecting conjunctival or uveal melanomas, or their precursors,
is meaningful.