Carcinoma -associated Retinopathy(CAR): Role of Electroretinography(ERG) and Optical coherence Tomography(OCT) in diagnosis and predicting treatment outcome

PURPOSE: Cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) is a potentially blinding condition that can be stalled or,rarely, reversed if diagnosed early. This case report aims to highlight the role of Electroretinography (ERG) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in diagnosis and predicting treatment response, in the clinical scenario of unexplained vision loss in a patient with a recent diagnosis of uterine malignancy. OBSERVATIONS: A 70 year old lady, recently diagnosed with Endometrial carcinoma Stage 3, came to us with defective vision and photopsiae of both eyes of ten days duration. A high index of suspicion, flat ERG, OCT changes, absence of metastasis, and positive Antirecoverin antibody clinched the diagnosis. Early systemic steroid therapy along with surgical removal of the tumour, adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy helped in visual improvement in our patient. CONCLUSIONS: Presence of intact ellipsoid zone (EZ) and external limiting membrane (ELM) in pre-treatment OCT was found to be a positive predictor of visual recovery.