Uveal melanoma is the most common primary malignant intraocular tumor in adults. The management of uveal melanoma remains a clinical dilemma, which reflects our poor understanding of this life-threatening disease. A major challenge facing researchers investigating this malignancy has been to develop a suitable animal model. The purpose of this work is to characterize, in detail, the processes of tumor development, malignant cell dissemination and metastasis in a 10-week albino rabbit model of uveal melanoma. Intraocular tumors successfully developed, and metastatic disease was present in all animals at the end of the experiment. For the first time using an animal model of uveal melanoma, the presence of circulating malignant cells in the bloodstream was demonstrated. Knowledge gained from this study has led to a better overall understanding of the progression of the disease in this experimental model and may facilitate the development of methods for the prevention, early detection and treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.81599 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Blanco, Paula L. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Pathology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002198642, proquestno: AAIMR12402, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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