As this issue of Retina Today was being prepared for publication, several contributors to our cover focus on ocular oncology were traveling to and from Argentina to attend the biennial meeting of the International Society of Ocular Oncology. This meeting, which was held November 14-17 in Buenos Aires, attracted speakers and attendees from all over the world and featured presentations on some of the latest advances in ocular oncology research. In fact, we are pleased to note, the Research Day program on the meeting's first day included several of the topics covered in this issue.

Going to press on the heels of the international ocular oncology confab, and the fact that this issue shares several topics and presenters with such a prestigious meeting, gives us a good feeling. We must be doing something right. The primary and constant goal of Retina Today is always to bring to you, the reader, the best of ophthalmic research and practice. As we close out 2011 and look forward to 2012, we plan to keep this goal in mind.

In this issue in particular, readers can share insights from some of the top clinicians and researchers in ocular oncology. A number of articles concentrate on the most common of primary intraocular malignancies, choroidal melanoma. For some historical perspective, Timothy G. Murray, MD, MBA, reflects on some of the lessons from the landmark Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study, the monumental clinical trial undertaking that defined the treatment of ocular melanoma for a generation and beyond.

One of the topics covered in depth at the Buenos Aires meeting's Research Day was the molecular biology of choroidal melanoma. Although our understanding of uveal melanoma's molecular characteristics lags behind that of the related yet distinct cutaneous melanoma, progress is being made in this area. Here, Miguel Materin, MD, explains the connections and distinctions between skin melanoma and ocular melanoma and the research that is elucidating their molecular abnormalities.

David H. Abramson, MD, provides an update on the status of intraarterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma, another focus of discussion at the Research Day in Argentina and a promising technique with positive results that are apparently being replicated at ocular oncology centers around the world. In addition, Paul T. Finger, MD, innovator of the Finger Slotted Plaque among other advances, reviews the current options for management of choroidal melanoma.

Carol L. Shields, MD—who contributes cases in ocular oncology to every issue of Retina Today—is joined in this issue by colleagues Alok Bansal, MD, and Carlos G. Bianciotto, MD, to address the safety of pars plana vitrectomy in eyes that have been previously treated for posterior uveal melanoma. Finally, Tara A. McCannel, MD, reviews the results of a Jules Stein Eye Institute study of the safety of fine-needle aspiration biopsy, a technique that may help to advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of choroidal melanoma in the future.

As with every issue, we welcome your feedback on all editorial content. You can contact us by email at letters@bmctoday.com, and Retina Today is now also on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/szUZRp, where our editors post daily updates on retina news, clinical ophthalmology meetings, and other related information. Contact us with any ideas or if you have a topic on which you would like to contribute. We look forward to hearing from you.

Robert L. Avery, MD
Associate Medical Editor

Allen C. Ho, MD
Chief Medical Editor