Retinochoroidal findings and lung cancer: First report in Mexican population

Abstract Introduction Lung cancer (LC) is the most common tumor, and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Although cases of choroidal metastasis and cancer-associated retinopathy have been reported in LC, no studies have been conducted on the Mexican population to describe retinochoroidal findings during the course of LC, and the relationship with its stage. Objective To evaluate patients with a diagnosis of LC, and to describe the posterior segment findings in relationship to the stage of LC. Materials and methods A cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted on 50 patients with LC (100 eyes). The demographic data included age, gender, histological type, evolution time, stage, treatment, and comorbidities. The measurement variables included visual acuity (LogMAR), anterior segment biomicroscopy, retinal photography, fluorescein retinal angiography, optical coherence tomography, and electroretinogram. All patients were evaluated by two ophthalmologists. Results The study included a total of 26 men and 24 women, with a mean age of 65 years, and a mean time from LC diagnosis of 6 months. The principal histological type was adenocarcinoma (70%), and most (50%) were in stage II at the time of evaluation, with 15 (30%) patients having a metastasis (stage IV). The changes in the posterior segment included choroidal metastasis (16%), retinal metastasis (10%), cancer-associated retinopathy (6%), and vascular occlusions (4%). The majority of patients who presented with posterior segment alterations were in stage IV. Conclusions Vascular occlusions, cancer-associated retinopathy, choroidal and retinal metastases may be found in LC, with an incidence higher than that reported in the literature, especially in advanced stages of LC, although they can be found from stage II in asymptomatic patients.