Cutaneou melanoma-aociated paraneoplatic retinopathy: hitopathologic obervation

PURPOE: To decribe the retinal hitopathology of paraneoplatic retinopathy aociated with cutaneou melanoma. METHOD: A 59-year-old man had viual lo attributable to paraneoplatic retinopathy and died of metatatic cutaneou melanoma. Hi eye were tudied by conventional hitopathologic technique. REULT: Hitopathologic examination of both eye dicloed a marked reduction in the denity of bipolar neuron in the inner nuclear layer; photoreceptor cell neuron in the outer nuclear layer were normal. Ganglion cell were preent, although many howed evidence of tranynaptic atrophy. CONCLUION: The hitopathologic change oberved are conitent with clinical, immunologic, and electrophyiologic data that implicate the bipolar cell a the major ite of the paraneoplatic proce in cutaneou melanoma-aociated retinopathy.