Choroidal melanoma is a primary cancer of the eye. It arises from the pigmented cells of the choroid of the eye and is not a tumor that started somewhere else and spread to the eye. Malignant means that the tumor is a cancer which may metastasize, that is, spread to other parts of the body. Although some choroidal melanomas are more life-threatening than others, almost all should be treated as if they were malignant.
Choroidal melanoma is diagnosed during an examination of the eye by an ophthalmologist.
Your eye doctors are able to recognize a choroidal melanoma by the degree of pigmentation of the tumor, by its shape and location, and by other features observed in an eye examination. Most of the time, the ophthalmologist can be nearly certain of the diagnosis from clinical appearance, photographs, and ultrasound pictures. Therefore, biopsy, which is often indicated to diagnose tumors in other parts of the body, is avoided. In the echography test, soundwaves are directed towards the tumor by a small probe placed on the eye. The pattern made by reflection of the sound waves helps your doctor to diagnose the tumor.