Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2010 Jan;30(1):23-32.
doi: 10.1097/IAE.0b013e3181b408a2.

Fundus autofluorescence patterns in eyes with primary intraocular lymphoma

Tomoka Ishida  1 , Kyoko Ohno-Matsui, Yuh Kaneko, Hideaki Tobita, Noriaki Shimada, Hiroshi Takase, Manabu Mochizuki
Affiliations
Case Reports

Fundus autofluorescence patterns in eyes with primary intraocular lymphoma

Tomoka Ishida et al. Retina. 2010 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the fundus autofluorescence (FAF) patterns in the eyes with primary intraocular lymphomas (PIOLs).

Methods: A review of the medical charts of four consecutive patients (five eyes) with PIOL who had been studied by FAF. A fundus camera was used to obtain the FAF images. Optical coherence tomography was also performed.

Results: The ophthalmoscopically observed brown clumps on the surface of greasy yellowish masses beneath the retinal pigmented epithelium had a bright hyperfluorescence appearance by FAF. This FAF hyperfluorescence was completely reversed to hypofluorescence in the fluorescein angiograms. The diffuse infiltration of the cells making up the PIOL above the retinal pigmented epithelium was ophthalmoscopically observed as a retinal whitening and was hypofluorescent by FAF. These areas of hypofluorescence were also reversed to areas of hyperfluorescence in the fluorescein angiogram. Fundus autofluorescence clearly delineated the retinal pigmented epithelium atrophy, which developed after the spontaneous resolution of the PIOL as a hypoautofluorescent area.

Conclusion: Because FAF can reveal various findings of PIOLs, it can be used to differentiate the patients with PIOL from those with ocular inflammatory diseases. Although further studies are required to determine whether these findings are characteristic to PIOL, this noninvasive method can then lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors have any conflict of interest in the materials presented in this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Corresponding fundus photo (A), OCT (B), FAF (C), and FA (D) of patient #1. Despite relatively unremarkable color fundus photographs, except mild RPE mottling, FAF displays significant granular pattern. Hyperautofluorescent spots on FAF are hypofluorescent on FA (yellow arrowheads). Nodular hyperreflective spots at the level of RPE on OCT appear to correspond to granular areas on FAF (yellow arrowheads).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fundus photograph (A) and FAF (B) of the right eye a 62 year old female patient diagnosed with PIOL/PVRL through vitreous biopsy show suspicious areas of tumor infiltrates (hyperautofluorescence) on FAF despite significant vitreous haze on fundus photos. Images after treatment illustrate areas of atrophy with resolution of infiltrates (C) which correspond to areas of hypofluorescence on FAF (D). Note the corresponding changes from hyperautofluorescent spots to hypoautofluorescent spots after treatment (red circles).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Left eye of patient #9 was asymptomatic (vision 20/20) with no infiltrates at presentation (A), normal fundus autofluorescence (B) and SD-OCT (E). 2 years later she noted slight vision decline (20/25) and fundus exam showed granular subretinal infiltrates (C) with corresponding areas of hyperautofluorescence (D) and nodular hyperreflective spots on SD-OCT (F). This was confirmed via cytokine analysis from the aqueous (elevated IL-10/IL-6) and MRI with concurrent CNS involvement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Coupland SE, Damato B. Understanding intraocular lymphomas. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. 2008;36(6):564–578. - PubMed
    1. Chan CC, Wallace DJ. Intraocular lymphoma: update on diagnosis and management. Cancer Control. 2004;11(5):285–295. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Grimm SA, Pulido JS, Jahnke K, et al. Primary intraocular lymphoma: an international primary central nervous system lymphoma collaborative group report. Annals of Oncology. 2007;18(11):1851–1855. - PubMed
    1. Choi JY, Kafkala C, Foster CS. Primary intraocular lymphoma: A review. Semin Ophthalmol. 2006 Jul-Sep;21(3):125–133. Review. - PubMed
    1. Cassoux N, Giron A, Bodaghi B, et al. IL-10 measurement in aqueous humor for screening patients with suspicion of primary intraocular lymphoma. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2007;48(7):3253–3259. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types