Iris melanoma. Nevus or malignancy?

Although iris melanomas have an excellent prognosis when diagnosed and treated early, they should not be considered benign lesions. The authors report the orbital recurrence of a melanoma in a patient whose eye had been enucleated 30 years earlier because of an iris melanoma. The clinical, epidemiological and pathological characteristics of iris melanomas are summarized and compared to those of other uveal melanomas. The similarities suggest that iris melanomas are not by nature more benign than other uveal melanomas and that their better prognosis is due to the earlier detection allowed by their more obvious location.