title: Clinical and cytogenetic characteristics of choroidal melanoma in Vietnamese Asians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report the clinical and cytogenetic characteristics of choroidal melanoma in Vietnamese Asians.
  
  
  METHODS
  In three Vietnamese Asians with choroidal melanoma, transscleral fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was performed immediately before iodine-125 brachytherapy. Biopsy was examined for cytopathology, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for the centromere of chromosome 3, and analyzed by 250K whole genome Mapping Array and U133 plus 2.0 Expression Array.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three Vietnamese Asian men (50, 59, and 30 years of age) with clinical diagnosis of choroidal melanoma and no evidence of metastasis had FNAB immediately before Iodine-125 brachytherapy. Cytopathology showed heavily pigmented cells suggestive of or consistent with melanoma. Mapping Array and Expression Array revealed cytogenetic aberrations and gene expression profiles characteristic of choroidal melanoma. One patient (Case 2) with chromosome 3 loss and chromosome 8q gain developed biopsy-proven liver metastasis three years after brachytherapy. One patient (Case 1) with chromosome 6p, 9q and 17q gain and a second patient (Case 3) with 6p, 8q and 9q gains and losses in 6q and 8p have had no evidence of metastasis three years after brachytherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this series of Vietnamese Asians with heavily pigmented choroidal melanoma, the clinical characteristics, cytogenetic aberrations and gene expression profiles were similar to characteristics in other ethnic/racial groups and the cytogenetic aberration of chromosome 3 loss was associated with the development of liver metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. TMcCannel@jsei.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Tara A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: McCannel
authors.forename: Melinda Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Barry L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Burgess
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D003582:Cytogenetics; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D014604:Uveal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics; D014744:Vietnam; D000098943:Uveal Melanoma