Presenting signs and symptoms of choroidal melanoma: what do they mean?

Presenting signs and symptoms of 193 patients with choroidal melanomas (followed for up to 152 months) were recorded using retrospective chart review. Eighty patients (41%) had no symptoms (the melanoma was found during routine ophthalmologic examination in 65 patients and during treatment for other eye problem in 15 patients). We found 113 patients (59%) had symptoms (visual acuity or visual field defects, 77 patients; flashes or floaters, 30 patients; pain, 5 patients, and metastatic disease, 1 patient). The tumor size was related to the presence or absence of symptoms (chi-square, 10.6; P = .005). More tumors that presented with symptoms were medium sized (64%) than large (27%). Men had significantly more symptoms (chi-square, 4.1; P = .04). The right eye was more likely to be involved in patients with symptoms (chi-square, 7.3; P = .007). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for age, sex, presence of tumor or retinal detachment in the macula, tumor location, presence of symptoms, laterality, and tumor size showed that only tumor size was related to a difference in incidence of metastasis (log-rank chi-square, 12.9; P = .002). With increased tumor height, the probability of developing metastasis was greater.