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
. 2021 Mar 6:22:101040.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajoc.2021.101040. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Doppelgänger dilemma: Leiomyoma versus uveal melanoma

Affiliations
Case Reports

Doppelgänger dilemma: Leiomyoma versus uveal melanoma

Ankit Singh Tomar et al. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. .

Abstract

Background: Ciliary body tumors can remain undetected and achieve large dimensions. Pigmented ciliary body tumors include: melanoma, leiomyoma and melanocytoma, however correct diagnosis may require tissue diagnosis with immunohistochemical stains.

Case presentation: Two men presented with identical ciliochoroidal tumors. Both had darkly pigmented dome-shaped anterior uveal masses, exudative retinal detachments and transillumination shadowing. Ocular PET-CT imaging revealed that both were metabolically active consistent with a diagnosis of cancer. However, immunohistochemical examination revealed one a leiomyoma and the other melanoma.

Conclusion: Uveal leiomyoma can be an indistinguishable doppelgänger to ciliochoroidal melanoma, where the diagnosis can only be established by immunohistopathology.

Keywords: Benign; Immunohistochemistry; Leiomyoma; Melanoma; Uvea.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(A–D): A: A 30-year-old man with nasal ciliary body tumor, B: Note the dysmorphic fovea. C: A 45-year-old man with temporal ciliary body tumor, D: Note the dysmorphic fovea.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A–D): A, B: A 30-year-old man with nasal ciliary body tumor. B-scan ultrasound shows a dome-shaped, moderately low reflective choroidal tumor. Note the small secondary retinal detachment adjacent to the tumor. C, D: A 45-year-old man with temporal ciliary body tumor. B-scan shows a dome-shaped, moderately reflective choroidal tumor. Note the secondary retinal detachment adjacent to the tumor.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(A–D): A, B: Leiomyoma pathology analysis reveals: 3A (Hematoxylin-Eosin stain, original magnification × 100) shows spindle mesenchymal cells, with cigar-shaped nuclei and vesicular chromatin. 3B Immunohistochemistry of this tumor shows positive immunoreactivity for smooth muscle actin (SMA) (original magnification × 100). C, D: Uveal melanoma pathology reveals: 3C (Hematoxylin-Eosin stain, original magnification × 100) shows histopathologically similar spindle-shaped cells with marked nuclear enlargement and prominent nucleoli. 3D In contrast, immunohistochemistry shows positive immunoreactivity for HMB-45 (original magnification × 100).

References

    1. Blodi F.C. Leiomyoma of the ciliary body. Am J Ophthalmol. 1950;33(6):939–942. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(50)91612-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tomar A.S., Finger P.T., Iacob C.E. Intraocular leiomyoma: current concepts. Surv Ophthalmol. 2020;65(4):421–437. doi: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2019.12.008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chiang W.-Y., Lin J.-W., Yang I.-H., Kuo H.-K. Posterior choroidal leiomyoma: a rare case report and literature review. APMIS Acta Pathol Microbiol Immunol Scand. 2015;123(6):540–545. doi: 10.1111/apm.12384. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Heegaard S., Jensen P.K., Scherfig E., Ju Prause. Leiomyoma of the ciliary body. Report of 2 cases. Acta Ophthalmol Scand. 1999;77(6):709–712. - PubMed
    1. Kim J.M., Hall L.B., Elia M., Ehrlich M.S., Materin M.A., Sinard J.H. Acute presentation of mesectodermal leiomyoma of the ciliary body. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2017;3(4):304–309. doi: 10.1159/000464466. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources