Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>Our objective was to study survival rates with the bone marrow (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content>) results in a cohort of uveal melanoma patients with long follow‐up.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>Mononuclear cell fractions isolated from <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> were examined for tumour cells using our immunomagnetic separation (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">IMS</jats:styled-content>) method. The patients were classified as <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> positive or <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> negative. Clinical follow‐up, histopathological findings, vital status and cause of death were registered.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>The study included 328 consecutive patients with uveal melanoma from 1997 to 2006. Tumour cells were found in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> samples in 29% (95% <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CI</jats:styled-content>, 25–34) at enrolment (96 cases). After a minimum follow‐up time of 6 years, 156 (48%) (95% <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CI</jats:styled-content>, 42–53) melanoma patients had died. The causes were as follows: melanoma metastases 92 (59%), another cancer 20 (13%) and non‐cancer 44 (28%). Nine patients were still living with melanoma metastases. Until the latest work‐up, 101(31%) (95% <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CI</jats:styled-content>, 26–36) patients had developed melanoma metastases. Cyto‐ or histopathological verification of the metastatic lesions was obtained in 85 cases (84%). In the group with melanoma metastases, 28 tested <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> positive at study entry (28%) (95% <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CI</jats:styled-content>, 19–38). In total, 39 of 101 with metastases tested positive at least once after a maximum of three tests (39%) (95% <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CI</jats:styled-content>, 29–49). The overall median survival from the first <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> test was shorter for the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> negative patients (9.5 years) compared with the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> positive (14.4 years), p = 0.02, log rank test.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>Ocular melanoma cells detected in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BM</jats:styled-content> seem to have a positive prognostic impact on survival in contrast to our original hypothesis.</jats:p></jats:sec>