Program Book

Methods. A total of 4070 patients with primary uveal melanoma [ICD-
O-2] codes C69.3 [choroid], C69.4 [ciliary body and iris], and C69.2
[retina] derived from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results
(SEER) database. The significance of trends were determined using chisquare
test.
Results. There were 4070 cases of uveal melanoma representing 3.1%
of all recorded cases of melanoma.
The majority of cases (98.3%) were reported by hospitals. Histopathologic
confirmation was available in 72.1% of cases. The mean age-adjusted
incidence was 5.1 per million, with 97.8% of cases occurring in the white
population. No change in the 5-year relative survival rate (81.6%) was
observed.
Conclusions. The age-adjusted incidence (5.1 per million) has remained
unchanged from 1973 to 2008. Despite a shift toward more conservative
treatments, survival has not improved during this time period.
Financial disclosure. None
453 Ump126
FISH: MAKING HEADS OR TAILS OF TECHNIQUES
M. Turell1, R. Tubbs2 , C. Biscotti3 , Y. Sun2, Y. Saunthararajah4, P.
Triozzi 5, A. Singh1 (turellm2@ccf.org)
1. Cole Eye Institute; 2. Department of Molecular Pathology; 3.
Department of Anatomic Pathology; 4. Hematologic Oncology & Blood
Disorders; 5. Solid Tumor Oncology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation,
Cleveland, OH
Purpose. Tumor monosomy 3 confers a poor prognosis in patients
with uveal melanoma. A critical review of the literature pertaining to
techniques and procedures used for fluorescence in situ hybridization
(FISH) detection of monosomy 3 was performed in order to compare
practice patterns across oncology centers worldwide.
Methods. A PubMed literature search was conducted for studies related
to FISH-based uveal melanoma prognostication published between
January 1, 1997 and January 1, 2011.
Results. A total of 29 publications were relevant to this review.
Significant variability was found in both clinical features (tumor size
and location) and the specific FISH techniques that have been used to
assess monosomy 3 status in uveal melanoma. In particular, parameters
including tissue sampling Methods (fresh tissue [n=14], fine-needle
aspiration biopsy [n=6], and paraffin-embedded tissue [n=9]), selection
of FISH probes (centromeric [n=25], locus-specific probes [n=6], whole
chromosome paints [n=2], and unspecified [n=2]), number of cells
counted (range: 40-500), and cut-point (range 5-60%) used to determine
monosomy 3 status varied widely.
Conclusions. FISH to detect monosomy 3 in uveal melanoma has not
been performed in a standardized manner. This likely affects reported
Results and limits Conclusions regarding clinical utility.
Financial disclosure. This work was supported by a Falk Trust grant and a Research to Prevent
Blindness Challenge Grant, Department of Ophthalmology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of
Medicine.
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