MALIGNANT MELANOMA—SO-CALLED SARCOMA—OF UVEA

Abstract

Mistakes in the diagnosis of malignant melanoma¹are numerous. They are of two general types, namely : (1) failure to discover the presence of the tumor and (2) confusion of some other pathologic condition with malignant melanoma. FAILURE TO DISCOVER THE PRESENCE OF THE TUMOR Failure to discover the presence of the tumor appears to be the more common error. In a recent statistical study of 94 cases of tumor²it was found that 42 of the eyes were enucleated without the surgeon's suspecting that a neoplasm was in the eye. The correct diagnosis was established in the pathologic laboratory. The presence of the tumor always was obscured by some more obvious but usually closely related clinical entity (table 1). The fundus in many instances could not be examined ophthalmoscopically. Glaucoma, a common complication of the neoplasm, was found in 41 of 94 cases (44 per cent). The tumors