Cellular phenotypes of human ocular melanoma in context of treatment selection

The purpose of the study was to show the histopathological features of melanoma of the human choroid, as well as the structures surrounding the tumor, and their significance in predicting the outcome of the tumor for choosing a treatment method. The desire for organ-preserving non-invasive methods of tumor destruction leaves out of attention such risk factors as metastasis, localization and degree of damage to the structures surrounding uveal melanomas. To substantiate the unsafety of local treatment of melanomas, the morphological features of the cellular phenotypes of the tumor and the features of changes in the structures surrounding the tumor on sections of a human eye enucleated according to clinical indications were established. It has been established that the tumor contains not only the well-known spindle-shaped and epithelioid cells. The data obtained complement the information on the cellular phenotypes of ocular melanomas and dictate a revision of the generally accepted classification of these tumors, including fusiform, epithelioid and mixed types of malignant tissues in the structure of the human choroid, adopted in the seventh edition of the Cancer Staging Manual of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (Cancer Staging Manual) of the American Joint Committee on Cancer). Pathological changes were established in the tissues adjacent to the tumor, in the retina and vitreous body, which are responsible for the preservation of visual functions.