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B-scan ultrasounds on 3 patients whose eyes were filled with cellular masses (two uveal melanomas and one reactive fibrous granulomatous proliferation) performed by 4 experienced retinal specialists were misinterpretated as containing no tumor mass. A possible explanation for this potentially avoidable oversight is offered.

Understanding the mechanism of retinoblastoma (Rb) tumor initiation, development, progression and metastasis in vivo mandates the use of animal models that mimic this intraocular tumor in its genetic, anatomic, histologic and ultrastructural features. An early setback for developing mouse Rb models was that Rb mutations did not cause tumorigenesis in murine retinas. Subsequently, the discovery that the p107 protein takes over the role of pRb in mice led to the development of several animal models that phenotypically and histologically resemble the human form. This paper summarizes the transgenic models that have been developed over the last three decades.

We report the case of a 50-year-old woman with a history of diabetes mellitus who underwent left breast lumpectomy and ipsilateral lymphadenectomy in 1994 because of an infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy to the breast and nodal areas were performed. In 2010, in a routine screening for diabetic retinopathy, two choroidal elevated masses above and below the optic nerve associated to serous retinal detachment of her right eye were noted. The patient was asymptomatic. Carcinoma was positive for hormone receptor. Hormone treatment with letrozole was established. Complete regression of the choroidal metastasis was observed 3 months later. Ophthalmologic screening in asymptomatic patients with breast cancer has the advantage of being a noninvasive procedure and enables an early treatment in isolated cases. However, some studies are an argument against the usefulness of eye screening due to the low incidence of asymptomatic choroidal metastasis and the cost that involves performing it routinely in a large number of patients. Aromatase inhibitors are well-tolerated drugs that may be a powerful tool in the management of metastatic breast cancer that express hormone receptors.

The ability to obtain the proper clinical diagnosis in cases of suspected intraocular tumors has greatly advanced during the past 50 years. The clinical characteristics of most intraocular tumors (size, shape, color, and texture) are detectable by skilled ophthalmoscopic examination and, with the use of adjunctive techniques (mainly ultrasonography), the proper diagnosis can be reached without invasive procedures. Notwithstanding, some intraocular tumors need to be biopsied to obtain a reliable diagnosis. In the cytogenetic era, intraocular tumor management is changing, and tumor-sampling procedures are becoming the main prognostic (and theoretically also diagnostic) tools for uveal melanoma. In spite of the widespread use of biopsies in general surgical practice, in ophthalmic oncology, indications and contraindications for biopsy continue to be under debate. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the role of uveal melanoma biopsy in current clinical practice.

The clinical and pathologic findings of a patient with an unusual cavitary melanocytoma of the ciliary body are presented. Clinically and with ultrasonography the lesion appeared to have a cystic component. Differential diagnoses included a malignant melanoma or a cyst, and the lesion was excised by iridocyclectomy.

A report on results of 186 32P tests is given. Radiation increases of more than 30%, compared with tumor-free areas, were considered as positive. 95 eyes were histologically examined. The 32P test gave 90 correct positive answers and 1 correct negative answer. Faulty positive results were found in 2 cases; faulty negative results were also found in 2 cases. This means that the diagnosis was correct in 95%. The literature is discussed concerning reliability and methods. The dangers of the use of 32P are stressed, and the development of noninvasive nuclear-medical diagnostic methods is suggested.

Report of a 71-year-old woman with acute closed-angle glaucoma. Echography shows an intraocular tumor of the choroid, and the histological diagnosis is necrotic malignant melanoma of the choroid. The clinical, echographical and histological findings are discussed.