Melanoma, Vitiligo, and Uveitis

Yea et al described a patient who underwent successful immunotherapy for metastatic cutaneous melanoma with autologous tumor-reactive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and developed ocular and systemic autoimmunity, including vitiligo and uveitis resembling Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) Syndrome. The report provides clues into the pathogenesis of the VKH syndrome, and the authors’ review of the recent literature is informative. A further review of earlier work, principally by Lerner et al, puts this article in better perspective for the clinical ophthalmologist with regard to the relationship of melanoma, vitiligo, uveitis, and VKH. Dr Lerner, the discoverer of melatonin and the founding chair of Yale’s Department of Dermatology, spent 60 years studying vitiligo and convincingly demonstrated tha…

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