Twenty-one year old female with an iris tumor: a case report

Full text: A 21-year-old female with multiple granulomas an the right iris with concomitant therapy refractive panuveitis was referred to the Department of Ophthalmology to exclude an ocular malignancy. The patient had a history of minimal change glomerulonephritis and cutaneous granulomas at the age of six years that were successfully treated with cyclophosphamide. Her visual acuity initially already reduced to 30 % decreased rapidly to 'counting fingers'. A clinical work-up including chest x-ray, spiral computed tomography of the lungs and a detailed serological examination including angiotensin converting enzyme showed no evidence of infection or neoplasia. Planar scintigraphy 24 hours after administration of 185 MBq Gallium-67 citrate demonstrated an intense tracer accumulation in both lacrimal glands. Salivary gland uptake was normal and there was only a faint accumulation in the mediastinum interpreted as normal. A biopsy of the right iris revealed a granulomatous non caseating inflammation diagnosed as sarcoidosis. A systemic combination treatment with prednisolone and methotrexate for 4 months could not control the inflammation. After therapy was changed to cyclosporine the inflammation decreased and visual acuity decreased to 60 %. Neither a 'lambda sign' (characteristic uptake of Ga-67 in intrathoracic lymph nodes resembling the Greek letter lambda) nor a typical 'panda sign' (bilateral salivary and lacrimal gland uptake of Ga-67) commonly present in sarcoidosis were seen in our patient. This case demonstrates that in individual patients with sarcoidosis, lacrimal gland uptake of Ga-67 may be the only significant noninvasive finding. (author)