At a Glance Uveal and cutaneous melanomas have distinct genetic origins and require dramatically different treatment strategies.

If uveal melanoma metastasizes, it typically spreads to the liver. Surgical resection and chemotherapy usually are not options in such cases.

Hepatic chemoembolization is one current treatment option, but a number of new approaches are currently under evaluation.

New targeted therapies under development include inhibitors of inhibitors of the c-MET receptor (overexpressed in metastatic uveal melanoma tumors) and the kinase, MEK (implicated in uveal melanoma tumor growth). It starts with a mole. Like cutaneous melanoma, the first sign of melanoma of the eye – or uveal melanoma – is a nevus or spot on the choroidal wall, iris, or ciliary body. It’s estimated that 5 to 10 percent of the general population have nevi in their eyes (although that incidence is much lower in people with dark-colored irises), but thankfully fewer than around one in ten thousand nevi will develop into ocular melanoma (Figure 1).

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About the Authors

Takami Sato

A native of Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan, Takami Sato is one of the world’s leading physicians in the field of metastatic uveal melanoma therapeutics. Now based in the US at Philadelphia’s Jefferson University, Sato is the Director of their Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Program.

Carol Shields

Carol Shields is Chief of the Ocular Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital and Professor of Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, USA