Choroidal melanoma diagnosed by aspiration cytology: A case report with cyto-histologic correlation and review of the literature

Abstract

Histologic and cytologic features of uveal melanomas have been well characterized; however, cytologic-histologic correlation has rarely been described in detail in the literature. A 50-year old female presented at our institution with an intraocular mass which was diagnosed as choroidal melanoma by aspiration cytology. The patient subsequently proceeded to enucleation, confirming the diagnosis. Cytology revealed epithelioid cells containing melanin pigment and only mild nuclear atypia. The enucleation specimen contained 90% epithelioid cells with similar cytomorphology and an additional 10% spindle cell component not observed in the aspiration cytology. In summary, we present a case of choroidal melanoma showing high concordance between cytologic and histologic morphologic features.

Keywords: Choroidal melanoma; Cytology; Enucleation; Epithelioid; Uveal melanoma.