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Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of dendritic cell vaccination in metastatic uveal melanoma., Design: Interventional case series., Methods: We analyzed 14 patients with metastatic uveal melanoma treated with dendritic cell vaccination. Patients with metastatic uveal melanoma received at least 3 vaccinations with autologous dendritic cells, professional antigen-presenting cells loaded with melanoma antigens gp100 and tyrosinase. The main outcome measures were safety, immunologic response, and overall survival., Results: Tumor-specific immune responses were induced with dendritic cell vaccination in 4 (29%) of 14 patients. Dendritic cell-vaccinated patients showed a median overall survival with metastatic disease of 19.2 months, relatively long compared with that reported in the literature. No severe treatment-related toxicities (common toxicity criteria grade 3 or 4) were observed., Conclusions: Dendritic cell vaccination is feasible and safe in metastatic uveal melanoma. Dendritic cell-based immunotherapy is potent to enhance the host's antitumor immunity against uveal melanoma in approximately one third of patients. Compared with other prospective studies with similar inclusion criteria, dendritic cell vaccination may be associated with longer than average overall survival in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma., (Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We compared the results of foveal densitometry with results of other retinal function tests in five asymptomatic subjects with adult-onset diffuse drusen. All results of routine retinal function tests, including visual acuity, Rayleigh equation color matches, multiple static perimetry, electroretinography, and electro-oculography, were normal. All five subjects had decreased foveal cone photopigment density with densitometry, indicating an early dysfunction at the level of the foveal cone photoreceptors. Several functional defects may be responsible for the densitometric results in adult-onset diffuse drusen, including retinal pigment epithelium dysfunction, foveal cone photoreceptor misalignment, and a reduction of the in situ foveal cone photopigment.