Background: To explore the safety and effectiveness of Sclera patch grafts in the management of scleral defects.

Methods: This is a retrospective uncontrolled study. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for 8 eyes of 8 patients with sclera patch grafts. Two patients had necrotizing scleritis, 2 patients had scleral melting/perforation secondary to thermal burns, 4 patients had scleral staphyloma secondary to surgery. Sclera was reconstructed with allogenic sclera patch grafts, 6 in 8 patients combined autologous conjunctival pedicle flap, 1 patient combined partial medial rectus translocation, 1 patient combined autologous pedicle tenon graft, simultaneously. Treatment outcomes were evaluated using structural integrity, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), scleritis remission, sclera rejection and melt, and ocular symptoms.

Results: Eight patients were reviewed. In all of these cases, satisfactory anatomic and functional outcomes were achieved. In the at least half a year follow-up, the BCVA of all the eight patients were no worse than that of preoperative. No eye pain, foreign body sensation and other discomforts showed in all the patients, except one woman, who showed sclera rejection and melt 1 month postoperative. In addition, one patient showed high intraocular pressure (28 mmHg), which can be controlled by a kind of medicine.

Conclusions: In this series, sclera patch grafts is an effective method for management scleral defects in the at least half a year following-up. Attention should be paid to the sclera patch rejection and melt post operatively.

Abstract: In a comprehensive literature review, PubMed, Embasem and Web of Science were searched for studies examining targeted therapy of ocular malignant melanomas to present and discuss targeted therapy treatment options of ocular tumors, mainly conjunctival and uveal melanoma (UM). Conjunctival malignant melanomas showed similarities in clinical and genetic aspects with cutaneous melanomas. Many therapies with checkpoint inhibitors already established for cutaneous melanomas may be a treatment option for conjunctival malignant melanomas with shared traits. Existing targeted therapies are for example checkpoint inhibitors like pembrolizumab or nivolumab. As a corollary, due to marked differences in clinics and genetics between UMs and conjunctival melanomas (CMs) or cutaneous melanomas, it has remained elusive whether the available possibilities of molecular targeted therapy will be an option for the therapy of metastasizing UMs. Possible novel ways of treating UM are being explored. Fotemustine or the inoculation of dendritic cells with tumorous RNA or sunitinib in combination with cisplatin and or tamoxifen may be used in future to treat UM. While CM are treatable using targeted therapies, UM have not been researched enough to find working targeted therapy options. Further research has to be done in order to find acceptable treatment options.

Abstract: Animal models are crucial for the study of tumorigenesis and therapies in oncology research. Though rare, uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common intraocular tumor and remains one of the most lethal cancers. Given the limitations of studying human UM cells in vitro, animal models have emerged as excellent platforms to investigate disease onset, progression, and metastasis. Since Greene’s initial studies on hamster UM, researchers have dramatically improved the array of animal models. Animals with spontaneous tumors have largely been replaced by engrafted and genetically engineered models. Inoculation techniques continue to be refined and expanded. Newer methods for directed mutagenesis have formed transgenic models to reliably study primary tumorigenesis. Human UM cell lines have been used to generate rapidly growing xenografts. Most recently, patient-derived xenografts have emerged as models that closely mimic the behavior of human UM. Separate animal models to study metastatic UM have also been established. Despite the advancements, the prognosis has only recently improved for UM patients, especially in patients with metastases. There is a need to identify and evaluate new preclinical models. To accomplish this goal, it is important to understand the origin, methods, advantages, and disadvantages of current animal models. In this review, the authors present current and historic animal models for the experimental study of UM. The strengths and shortcomings of each model are discussed and potential future directions are explored.