Choroidal melanoma: systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To carry out a systematic review on choroidal melanoma to evaluate its epidemiological, clinical, genetic characteristics, therapeutic options and its prognosis.
Materials and methods: An electronic search was performed in the PubMed and Medline databases using the following keywords: uveal melanoma, choroidal melanoma, treatment, epidemiology, and genetics. The inclusion criteria were: clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, meta-analyzes and systematic evaluations. Articles published in peer-reviewed journals, articles in Spanish and English are included and there were no limitations on the publication date. Exclusion criteria were articles published by editorials, expert opinion, conference communication, unpublished articles in peer-reviewed journals, and articles in a language other than English or Spanish.
Results: A total of 295 articles were found that met the selection criteria, published between 1974 and 2019. A total of 66 articles were included in the review, grouped into: randomized and/or controlled clinical trials (n=16), epidemiological studies (n=20), clinical-diagnostic studies (n=22) and genetic studies (n=7).
Conclusions: Although choroidal melanoma is considered an infrequent pathology, it is of utmost importance for the ophthalmologist to suspect it, diagnose it and refer it when is necessary due to its high mortality rates. Both its incidence and mortality have remained stable despite changes in treatments. The disseminated disease still has no treatment. Multidisciplinary work is essential.