PRIMARY CHOROIDAL MELANOMA IN A PATIENT WITH PREVIOUS CUTANEOUS MELANOMA

A 67-year-old woman with a history of a skill melanoma that was excise d 7 years previously had a 6-month history of decreased vision in her right eye. A choroidal melanoma was diagnosed clinically, and the eye was enucleated. The results of a histopathological examination reveale d a primary uveal melanoma. Slides of the skin melanoma were obtained, and the initial diagnosis was confirmed. In an attempt to illustrate a biological difference between the 2 melanomas, immunohistochemical s tudies were performed on sections of the 2 specimens using S-100 prote in, HMB-45, and S-100-beta. Primary cutaneous and choroidal melanomas appearing in a patient with no predisposition are rare; this is believ ed to be only the fifth such case reported in the literature.