BACKGROUND Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary ocular malignancy of adults. A small group of patients was found to express familial predisposition. Moreover, it may be preceded or followed by other malignancies elsewhere in the body. We aim to compare the incidence of UM and other associated cancers and study the factors that may influence each condition. PATIENTS AND METHODS We have collected the data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database of nine US cancer registries for UM patients between 1973 and 2015. We calculated the standardised incidence ratios for single primary UM, first primary and second primary UM, and compared the groups for multiple factors. RESULTS A total of 4946 patients were included in the study; 3863 with single primary UM, 646 developed a second primary malignancy following UM, and 437 patients developed second primary UM following a previous primary malignancy. The risk of developing UM increased after leukaemia, melanoma of the skin and prostate. On the other side, the risk of developing melanoma of the skin, thyroid, renal and other eye and orbit malignancies has increased significantly after initial UM. This risk was more evident in the age group between 50 and 70 years old. Cancer-specific survival was significantly higher in UM associated with other malignancies group compared with single primary UM. CONCLUSION Our study showed a different behaviour of the UM when associated with other tumours that exceed the known spectrum of hereditary UM. Further studies are required to dissect the genetic background of this behaviour.

BACKGROUND Marital status influences the presentation and outcome of various cancers. We explored the relationship between marital status and survival of uveal melanoma (UM) and factors influencing this relationship. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients diagnosed with UM and registered in the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program between 1973 and 2017. Cox regression model was conducted to calculate the hazard ratio of overall and cancer-specific survival rate and delineate the effect of each confounder. RESULTS The study involved 10,557 patients with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.1. Most of the diagnosed patients were aged between 40 and 79 years (81%). Married patients (62%) represented the majority, followed by singles (12%), widowed (11%), and then divorced patients (7%). Single patients were the youngest group (mean age of 59.3 years) while widowed patients were the oldest (mean age of 75.8 years). In the Cox regression model for overall survival, married and single patients exhibited the best overall survival (no significant difference in between them), both surpassing divorced and widowed patients. Married patients were at a significantly lower risk to die from UM than divorced patients. Female patients and younger age groups showed the best overall and cancer-specific survival. CONCLUSION Maintained marriages improved the survival of UM patients. Widowed and divorced patients should be included in specially designed support programs during their cancer management.

(1) Background: Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy is a common analytical tool to detect chromophore in compounds by monitoring absorbance spectral wavelengths. Further, it could provide spectral information about complex conjugated systems in mixtures aided by chemometric tools to visualize large UV-Vis datasets as typical in food samples. This review provides novel insight on UV-Vis applications in the last 20 years, as an advanced analytical tool in the quality control of food and dietary supplements, as well as several other applications, including chemotaxonomy, authentication, fingerprinting, and stability studies. (2) Conclusions: A critical assessment of the value of UV application and its novel trends in the quality control (QC) of nutraceuticals reveals the advantages and limitations, focusing on areas where future advancements are in need. Although simple, UV and its novel trends present potential analytical tools with an acceptable error for QC applications from a non-targeted perspective compared to other expensive spectral tools.