The objective of this study was to characterize and differentiate vascular patterns of choroidal melanomas and choroidal metastases by color flow mapping (CFM). We conducted a retrospective chart study on CFM findings in 18 patients with choroidal melanomas and 10 patients with choroidal metastases. We evaluated the possibilities of applying CFM to identify hypo- versus hyper-vascularity within the tumor, a central ‘dominant vessel’, and Doppler signals in the tumor's center and/or periphery. CFM demonstrated hypervascular patterns in 33% melanomas and 100% metastases (p<0.0001). CFM identified a central dominant vessel in 94% melanomas and 0/10 metastases (p<0.0001). Vascularity occupied the center of 11/18 melanomas and 0/10 metastases (p<0.0001), the periphery of 2/18 melanomas and 9/10 metastases (p<0.0001), and equally occupied the tumor's center and periphery of 5/18 melanomas and 1/10 metastases (p<0.0001). Based on our findings, we conclude that CFM was capable of non-invasively demonstrating different and distinct vascular patterns in malignant choroidal melanomas and choroidal metastases.

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