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Br J Ophthalmol doi:10.1136/bjo.2007.116665

Fundus autofluorescence of choroidal nevus and melanoma

  1. Daniel Lavinsky (lavinsky{at}via-rs.net),
  2. Rubens N Belfort (rubens{at}belfort.med.br),
  3. Eduardo V Navajas (edunavajas{at}gmail.com),
  4. Virginia Torres (virginia{at}oftalmo.epm.br),
  5. Maria Cristina Martins (mcrism{at}uol.com.br),
  6. Rubens Belfort, Jr (eyebr{at}webmail.epm.br)
  1. Vision Institute, Paulista School of Medicine, UNIFESP, Brazil
  2. Vision Institute, Paulista School of Medicine, UNIFESP, Brazil
  3. Vision Institute, Paulista School of Medicine, UNIFESP, Brazil
  4. Vision Institute, Paulista School of Medicine, UNIFESP, Brazil
  5. Vision Institute, Paulista School of Medicine, UNIFESP, Brazil
  6. Vision Institute, Paulista School of Medicine, UNIFESP, Brazil
    • Published Online First 12 April 2007

    Abstract

    Background: To describe autofluorescence patterns of choroidal melanocytic lesions using the Heidelberg Retinal Angiograph 2 system (HRA2).

    Methods: Twenty patients with choroidal melanocytic lesions in the ocular fundus underwent ophthalmologic examination, fundus photography, autofluorescence, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Pathologic examination was performed on one enucleated eye with a large choroidal melanoma.

    Results: Fifteen patients had choroidal nevi and five had malignant choroidal melanoma (one small, one medium and three large tumors). Choroidal nevi did not show any characteristic autofluorescence pattern, although secondary retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) changes, such as drusen and pigment epithelium detachment, appeared faintly hyperautofluorescent in two patients. Only the small malignant choroidal melanomas had prominent orange pigmentation, although all melanomas had an intense confluent hyperautofluorescent signal over the lesions. Pathology of one large malignant melanoma revealed lipofuscin underlying RPE.

    Conclusion: Most nevi did not have characteristic hyperautofluorescent features, but choroidal melanomas seemed to have a pattern of confluent hyperautofluorescence. Therefore, autofluorescence may be a useful noninvasive tool to assess lipofuscin in pigmented choroidal lesions, which may contribute to the diagnosis of malignancy. This hypothesis, however, remains to be confirmed in large prospective studies.

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