Bilateral choroidal metastasis from adenoid cystic carcinoma of the submandibular salivary gland

Abstract

Purpose: A case of bilateral choroidal metastasis from an adenoid cystic carcinoma of the submandibular gland is described. Case description: A 45-years-old woman with a history of metastatic adenoid cystic carcinoma presented with visual impairment in both eyes. Fundus images showed bilateral creamy-white choroidal masses. Optical coherence tomography revealed subretinal fluid with high reflective speckles and a “lumpy bumpy” anterior contour of the lesions. Fluorescein angiography showed a hypofluorescent pattern of the lesions in early arterial phases, and progressive late hyperfluorescence. A diagnosis of bilateral choroidal metastasis from adenoid cystic carcinoma was made. The patient was advised to underwent palliative chemotherapy, but she expired a few weeks after the diagnosis. Conclusion: Salivary gland carcinoma rarely metastasizes to the choroid, with few cases described in literature. In patients with a history of salivary glands tumor the possibility of choroidal metastatization should always be considered.