Such medium and large melanomas are treated either by removing the eye (enucleation) or by applying radioactive plaques.
If the melanoma extends outside the eye to the surrounding bone, the prognosis is very poor. Surgical treatment combined with radiation therapy is usually given, but there is no solid evidence that this intensive therapy alters the bad outcome.
If the eye melanoma spreads to other parts of the body, it is usually handled in the same way as widespread skin melanoma, even though the tumors arising in the two locations may not be completely similar.
Investigational
• Immunological treatment found to be effective against skin melanomas may be studied against medium and
large primary eye melanomas within the next few years. It would be a major advance if at least partial sight
could be preserved by arresting tumor growth by immunological means.
