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
. 2018 Apr;4(3):145-151.
doi: 10.1159/000480640. Epub 2017 Oct 13.

Uveal Melanoma: 5-Year Update on Incidence, Treatment, and Survival (SEER 1973-2013)

Mary E Aronow  1 , Allan K Topham  2 , Arun D Singh  3
Affiliations

Uveal Melanoma: 5-Year Update on Incidence, Treatment, and Survival (SEER 1973-2013)

Mary E Aronow et al. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze trends in incidence, treatment, and survival of uveal melanoma in the United States from 1973 to 2013 using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database.

Materials and methods: Patients were identified using International Classification of Disease for Oncology codes: C69.3 (choroid), C69.4 (ciliary body and iris), and C69.2 (retina). Trends in age-adjusted incidence, treatment (surgery or radiation), and 5-year relative survival were calculated.

Results: There were 4,999 cases of uveal melanoma. The majority (97.8%) were reported by hospital inpatient/outpatient clinics. Histopathologic confirmation was available in 67.8%. The mean age-adjusted incidence was 5.2 per million (95% CI 5.0-5.4). When the incidence was standardized for race, a small but statistically significant (p < 0.05) annual percentage change of 0.5% was detected in Whites. There was a decline in patients treated with surgery alone (94.2% from 1973 to 1975 vs. 24.7% from 2012 to 2013). A corresponding increase was observed in radiation as primary treatment selection (1.3% from 1973 to 1975 vs. 68.3% from 2012 to 2013). No change in the 5-year relative survival (80.9%) was observed.

Conclusions: The age-adjusted incidence of uveal melanoma has remained stable with a minor increase in Whites. Despite a shift towards globe-preserving treatment, there has not been a concomitant improvement in survival.

Keywords: Incidence; Survival; Treatment; Uveal melanoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Age-adjusted incidence of uveal melanoma, 1973–2013. Number of persons per million population (y axis) adjusted to the US 2000 population (uveal melanoma C69.2-C69.4 only).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Age-adjusted incidence of uveal melanoma, 1973–2013, for Whites only. Number of persons per million population (y axis) adjusted to US 2000 population (uveal melanoma C69.2-C69.4 only). Since 1973, the APC (average annual percent change) was 0.5% (p < 0.05). (Percent changes were calculated using 1 year for each end point; APCs were calculated using the weighted least squares method.)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Trends in treatment of uveal melanoma, 1973–2013. Percentage of persons treated by each modality (y axis). OTH, other; UNK, unknown.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
5-year relative survival with uveal melanoma (y axis), 1973–2008.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program ( www.seer.cancer.gov). SEER*Stat Database: Incidence - SEER 18 Regs Research Data + Hurricane Katrina Impacted Louisiana Cases, Nov 2015 Sub (1973–2013).
    1. https://seer.cancer.gov/about/factsheets/SEER_brochure.pdf.
    1. Singh AD, Topham A. Incidence of uveal melanoma in the United States: 1973–1997. Ophthalmology. 2003;110:956–961. - PubMed
    1. Singh AD, Turell ME, Topham AK. Uveal melanoma: trends in incidence, treatment, and survival. Ophthalmology. 2011;118:1881–1885. - PubMed
    1. Percy C, van Holten V, Muir C, editors. International Classification for Diseases for Oncology. ed 2. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1990.

LinkOut - more resources