Disease focus
Uveal Melanoma
The most common primary intraocular cancer in adults, and the disease at the heart of the group’s work for over two decades.
Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular cancer in adults, with an incidence of fewer than one person per 100,000 per year. It can develop in three structures of the eye: the choroid, the ciliary body or the iris.
Metastasis and prognosis
Nearly half of patients experience spread of the tumour to the liver and elsewhere. Risk factors for metastasis include large tumour size, epithelioid cell type, particular tissue patterns and elevated mitotic activity. Crucially, loss of one copy of chromosome 3 is a strong predictor: metastatic disease occurs almost exclusively in patients whose tumour shows chromosome 3 loss.
This understanding underpins LUMPO, the Liverpool Uveal Melanoma Prognosticator Online, a tool developed with our collaborators that predicts an individual’s risk of metastatic disease, helping to stratify patients for surveillance and clinical trials.
Our research focus
The group investigates the biological and genetic mechanisms driving uveal melanoma’s aggressive behaviour. This work has improved our ability to predict prognosis and has contributed to better treatment outcomes for patients.
Vision-preserving treatment
In partnership with the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Centre, the team has helped develop treatment approaches now adopted internationally, including:
- Local resection techniques
- Proton beam radiotherapy for iris melanomas
- Specialised plaque positioning for choroidal tumours
- Refined biopsy methods for diagnosis and prognostication
Quality of life
We also study how patients respond psychologically to their diagnosis and treatment, so that we can better support people through their disease journey.