Lamas Nuno Jorge, Martel Arnaud, Nahon-Estève Sacha, Goffinet Samantha, Macocco Adam, Bertolotto Corine, Lassalle Sandra, Hofman Paul
Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Université Côte d'Azur, Pasteur Hospital, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Biobank BB-0033-00025, 06000 Nice, France.
Anatomic Pathology Service, Pathology Department, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário do Porto, Largo Professor Abel Salazar, 4099-001 Porto, Portugal.
Cancers (Basel). 2021 Dec 25;14(1):96. doi: 10.3390/cancers14010096.
Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common malignant intraocular tumour in the adult population. It is a rare cancer with an incidence of nearly five cases per million inhabitants per year, which develops from the uncontrolled proliferation of melanocytes in the choroid (≈90%), ciliary body (≈6%) or iris (≈4%). Patients initially present either with symptoms like blurred vision or photopsia, or without symptoms, with the tumour being detected in routine eye exams. Over the course of the disease, metastases, which are initially dormant, develop in nearly 50% of patients, preferentially in the liver. Despite decades of intensive research, the only approach proven to mildly control disease spread are early treatments directed to ablate liver metastases, such as surgical excision or chemoembolization. However, most patients have a limited life expectancy once metastases are detected, since there are limited therapeutic approaches for the metastatic disease, including immunotherapy, which unlike in cutaneous melanoma, has been mostly ineffective for UM patients. Therefore, in order to offer the best care possible to these patients, there is an urgent need to find robust models that can accurately predict the prognosis of UM, as well as therapeutic strategies that effectively block and/or limit the spread of the metastatic disease. Here, we initially summarized the current knowledge about UM by compiling the most relevant epidemiological, clinical, pathological and molecular data. Then, we revisited the most important prognostic factors currently used for the evaluation and follow-up of primary UM cases. Afterwards, we addressed emerging prognostic biomarkers in UM, by comprehensively reviewing gene signatures, immunohistochemistry-based markers and proteomic markers resulting from research studies conducted over the past three years. Finally, we discussed the current hurdles in the field and anticipated the future challenges and novel avenues of research in UM.
Cancers (Basel). 2021-12-25
Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2022-2-21
Cancers (Basel). 2020-9-25
JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017-6-1
World J Clin Oncol. 2024-1-24
Adv Anat Pathol. 2014-3
Cancers (Basel). 2025-4-23
Front Immunol. 2024-12-4
Cancers (Basel). 2021-10-16
Cancers (Basel). 2021-9-28
World J Clin Oncol. 2021-9-24
Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2021-12
Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2022-5