A Case of Conjunctival Melanoma Presenting as a Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Feliciana Menna; Markus Tschopp; Peter Meyer; Anthia Papazoglou

doi:10.1159/000541860

A Case of Conjunctival Melanoma Presenting as a Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Case Rep Ophthalmol. 2024 Oct 25;15(1):742-750. doi: 10.1159/000541860. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Feliciana Menna¹, Markus Tschopp^{1

2}, Peter Meyer^{1

3}, Anthia Papazoglou^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland.
² Department of Ophthalmology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
³ Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Abstract

Introduction: Conjunctival melanoma (CM) is a rare but potentially lethal ocular malignancy that arises from melanocytes in the conjunctiva. Its clinical presentation can mimic other more common conjunctival lesions, such as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), leading to diagnostic challenges.

Case presentation: We present a case of CM initially misdiagnosed as conjunctival SCC due to overlapping clinical features.

Conclusion: CM presenting as nonpigmented, conjunctival tumor is a diagnostic challenge. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for conjunctival melanocytic or amelanotic lesions, particularly those with atypical features.

Keywords: Conjunctival melanoma; Conjunctival tumor; Squamous cell carcinoma.

Publication types

Case Reports

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.