The biology of micrometastases from uveal melanoma.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible causes of tumour latency in uveal melanoma primarily through the analysis of micrometastases in tissue obtained from donors postmortem. Various explanations have been proposed but there is no clear answer from animal studies and few human data. The main hypotheses may be divided into several areas--immunological control of metastatic cells, lack of angiogenesis within micrometastases and reduced cell turnover.