title: [Melanocytoma of the optic disc. Three case studies].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Melanocytoma is a rare benign tumor that usually occurs as a pigmented lesion in the optic nerve head. It seems to be more frequently encountered in the Black population. We report three cases of melanocytoma observed in Martinique, where 90% of the population is of African origin.
  
  
  METHODS
  The first and second cases were found on routine ophthalmic examination. These patients had a heavily pigmented lesion that obscured part or all of the optic disc with slight extension into the adjacent nerve fiber layer of the retina. The tumor's margins were finely fibrillated. Fluorescein angiography demonstrated a homogenous hypofluorescent black tumor obscuring the optic disc vessels, with no tumor vessels visible. There were no juxtapapillary choroid vascular abnormalities. The third case was discovered on visual field examination. This melanocytoma was accompanied by papillary edema.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Only three cases of melanocytoma have been noted from 1994 to 2004 in 150,000 Caribbean patients examined in the University Hospital Center of Fort de France. The rarity of melanoma and the predisposition to melanocytoma are important epidemiologic factors in the etiologic search for pigmented tumor within the Black population. Yearly fundus examination is useful for monitoring growth and detecting malignant transformation.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Ophtalmologie, CHU Fort de France, Hôpital Pierre Zobda-Quitman, Fort de France. harold.merle@chu-fortdefrance.fr
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Merle
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Donnio
authors.forename: C R A
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Assavedo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thoumazet
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Poman
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ayeboua
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Richer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jean-Charles
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009506:Nevus / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009898:Optic Disk; D019574:Optic Nerve Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*