Territo C, Augsburger J J, Schroeder R P, Shields J A
Oncology Service, Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107.
Ophthalmic Surg. 1987 Sep;18(9):644-9.
We evaluated the natural history of 175 melanocytic lesions (nevus or melanoma) of the iris which were managed initially by observation without surgical intervention. Only eight of the 175 lesions (4.6%) enlarged during a median follow-up interval of 3.9 years. Univariate Cox regression analysis revealed that tumor location in the medical portion of the iris (P = 0.047) and pigment dispersion from the lesion onto the adjacent iris and trabecular meshwork (P = 0.056) were the only significant clinical conditions predictive of tumor enlargement. Based on these findings, we recommend conservative management of most melanocytic lesions of the iris.
