Ocular Melanoma Metastatic to Skin: The Value of HMB-45 Staining

Abstract

HMB-45 may be of value in the detection of ocular melanoma metastatic to skin. Cutaneous metastatic disease is a somewhat common and extremely important diagnosis. Although cutaneous metastases from cutaneous melanoma are relatively frequent, those from ocular melanomas are less so. Use of histochemical staining, especially the HMB-45 stain, allows confirmation of the diagnosis.

Associations between ocular melanoma and other primary cancers: An international population‐based study

“…Also, between-country variability in pathology procedures for distinguishing skin metastases of ocular melanoma from primary cutaneous melanoma 25,26 may have constituted an additional source of inter-registry variation and of spurious increase in risk of cutaneous melanoma after ocular melanoma.…”

Effect of different experimental conditions on biodegradable polylactide membranes prepared with supercritical CO2 as nonsolvent

“…The inter‐registry variability in risk of cutaneous melanoma after ocular melanoma indicates that the overall association between these 2 cancers is probably rather due to between‐country differences in the follow‐up of ocular melanoma patients. Also, between‐country variability in pathology procedures for distinguishing skin metastases of ocular melanoma from primary cutaneous melanoma25, 26 may have constituted an additional source of inter‐registry variation and of spurious increase in risk of cutaneous melanoma after ocular melanoma.…”

Skin metastases in metastatic uveal melanoma:GNAQ/GNA11mutational analysis as a valuable tool

“…Whether skin metastasis (either cutaneous or subcutaneous) can occur as the first manifestation of metastasis is a controversial topic among experts, but it appears possible. Our literature search revealed five reports suggesting such a constellation: [13][14][15][16][17] two cases described by Schwartz et al, 15 two by Zimmerman and McLean, 16 a single case report by Wieselthier and White, 17 and two of the 110 patients reported in the study by Lorigan et al 13 Theoretically, cutaneous melanocytic metastases in patients with known uveal melanoma could of course also result from an unknown cutaneous primary. The fact is that although patients with uveal melanoma do not seem to have a higher risk of developing cutaneous melanoma, they at least have the same risk of developing cutaneous melanoma as the general population, 18 and cases with both uveal and cutaneous melanoma have been published.…”

“…Whether skin metastasis (either cutaneous or subcutaneous) can occur as the first manifestation of metastasis is a controversial topic among experts, but it appears possible. Our literature search revealed five reports suggesting such a constellation: two cases described by Schwartz et al ., two by Zimmerman and McLean, a single case report by Wieselthier and White, and two of the 110 patients reported in the study by Lorigan et al …”