Correlation of ultrasound and biopsy measurements of the size of intraocular tumors

The authors investigated the relationship between ultrasonic assessment of tumour size (in vivo) and bioptic examination (in situ) in 52 patients with the diagnosis of a uveal melanoma where enucleation of the eyeball was indicated and performed. The patients were treated at the Ophthalmological Department of Vinohrady Faculty Hospital in 1992 to 2001. The period between the last echographic examination and the subsequent enucleation of the eyeball did not exceed one month (15 +/- 9 days). The authors investigated the maximal height of the tumour (prominence) and maximal diameter of the base of the tumour (so-called LTD-large tumour diameter) by ultrasound and bioptic measurement. They also assessed the mean prominence of the tumour and the mean diameter of its base. The results were compared statistically by the t-test. The difference between mean values of tumour prominence in the two types of assessment was not statistically significant at the 10% level of significance (t = 1.4; p > 0.10), the difference between mean values of the diameter of the base made by the two measurements is statistically significant at the 5% level of significance (t = 2.1, p < 0.05).