[Melanoma-associated retinopathy. Apropos of a case and review of the literature].

We describe here a case of melanoma-associated retinopathy. In 1993, a 60 year-old man had a cutaneous malignant melanoma surgically removed from the third right toe (thickness 3.15 mm; level IV). One year later he complained suddenly of photopsias, shimmering lights and night blindness of the left eye. Visual acuity and fundus examination were normal. The left visual field showed a tubular aspect. The photopic electroretinogram (ERG) was negative, and the scotopic one was flat. Six weeks later the same symptoms occurred in the right eye. One month later, inguinal lymph nodes were invaded with cancer cells. The association of metastatic melanoma, ocular functional signs and ERG's abnormalities suggested the diagnosis of melanoma-associated retinopathy. This paraneoplastic syndrome is very rare: only seven cases have been described. Antibodies against retinal bipolar cells have shown up in three cases. Treatment is yet to be discovered.