Incidence of uveal melanoma in the United States: 1973-1997.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence of primary uveal melanoma in the United States over a 25-year period from 1973 to 1997.


METHODS
Systematic review of existing databases.


METHODS
Two thousand four hundred ninety-three patients with primary uveal melanoma (International Classification of Oncology [ICDO-2] codes C69.3 [choroid melanoma] and C69.4 [ciliary body and iris]) derived from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program database in the United States from 1973 to 1997.


METHODS
The significance of trend in age-adjusted incidence rate was determined using chi-square test, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.


METHODS
The age-adjusted incidence rate.


RESULTS
There was a total of 2493 cases of uveal melanoma, representing 2.9% of all recorded cases of melanoma. Almost all cases (99.4%) were reported by the hospitals, and histopathologic confirmation was available in 81.3% of cases. The mean age-adjusted incidence of uveal melanoma in the United States was 4.3 per million (4.1-4.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]). Most cases (97.8%) occurred in the white population. There was significant variation of incidence between genders (males, 4.9 [4.6-5.2] 95% CI interval; females, 3.7 [3.5-3.9] 95% CI interval). There was no significant variation of incidence by the geographic location of the registry and over the entire period of observation (chi-square test).


CONCLUSIONS
The mean age-adjusted incidence of uveal melanoma (4.3 per million) in the United States is similar to that reported from European countries. The age-adjusted incidence rate of uveal melanoma has remained stable for the past 25 years.
Oncology Service, Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Arun D
AD
Singh
Allan
A
Topham
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018426:SEER Program / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014604:Uveal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*