Features of uveal melanoma clinical course

Purpose of the study. Analysis of the clinical characteristics of patients with uveal melanoma to determine the features of the disease course. Patients and methods. The study included 223 patients with a diagnosis of uveal melanoma who were examined at the NMRC for Oncology, the Russian Federation Ministry of Health, in the period from 2019 to 2024. All patients underwent a standard ophthalmological examination, and computed tomography of the orbits, chest, and abdominal organs was performed. Using the methods of standard descriptive statistics, patient data were analyzed in order to identify the ratio of the following: gender, age, location of the neoplasm and its size, the degree of spread of the primary tumor, metastasis and clinical symptoms. Results. In the study group, the number of male patients was 92 people (41.2 %) and female patients – 131 people (58.8 %). The average age of all patients was 61.3 ± 0.9 years. The incidence among female patients is higher than among male patients, especially at the age of 60 to 74 years. The most common localization of uveal melanoma is the choroid, which accounted for 85.6 % (191 patients). Tumors with degree of spread of T2 and T3 were predominant – 70 (31.4 %) and 76 (34.1 %) people, respectively. Medium and large tumors were diagnosed in a larger number of patients – 30.9 % and 40.4 %, respectively. Among all patients, distant metastases were detected in 11.6 %. The main site of metastasis is the liver (61 %). To a lesser extent, metastatic lesions were found in the lungs and bones (9–13 %), as well as the kidneys, adrenal glands, pancreas and brain (3–7 %). A wide range of symptoms and consequences of the spread of the primary tumor was revealed. Conclusion. The variety of clinical symptoms in uveal melanoma depends on the location and extent of the tumor. Understanding the features of the development of the disease and its manifestations contributes to timely diagnosis and effective treatment.