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Br J Ophthalmol 2004;88:1095-1097 doi:10.1136/bjo.2003.039289
  • Letter

Whole body PET/CT imaging for detection of metastatic choroidal melanoma

  1. P T Finger1,2,3,4,5,
  2. M Kurli1,2,
  3. P Wesley2,
  4. L Tena2,3,
  5. K R Kerr4,
  6. A Pavlick5
  1. 1The New York Eye Cancer Center, New York, USA
  2. 2The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, New York, USA
  3. 3St Vincent’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York, USA
  4. 4Beth Israel Medical Center
  5. 5New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA
  1. Correspondence to: Paul T Finger MD The New York Eye Cancer Center, 115 East 61st Street, New York, NY 10021, USA; pfingereyecancer.com
  • Revised 1 January 2004

Metastatic choroidal melanoma typically presents in the liver. Therefore, liver enzyme assays are the most common haematological evaluation performed after treatment.1

In 1985, The Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study required periodic medical evaluations including a physical examination, liver functions studies, a complete blood count, and a chest x ray. If liver enzymes exceeded 1.5 times normal, computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen was required. If low attenuation hepatic nodules suggested metastatic disease, fine needle aspiration biopsy of the liver tumours provided cytopathological confirmation.1

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a molecular imaging technique that uses radiolabelled molecules to image metabolic activity in vivo.2,3 When whole body PET was combined with computed radiographic tomography (CT), PET/CT put anatomy and function on the same page making practical a new era of physiological imaging.2–6

This study examines the …

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