Eye Cancer
Secondary Intraocular
Cancers that start somewhere else and then spread to the eye
  • most common cancers that spread to the eye are breast and lung cancers
Primary Intraocular
Cancers that start inside the eyeball
  • Melanoma most common in adults, followed by lymphoma
  • Retinoblastoma (cancer from cells in retina) most common in children
Intraocular Melanoma
  • Develops within the eyeball in adults
  • develop from pigment making cells called melanocytes, usually in uvea
  • can also start in iris, usually in a dark spot, fairly slow growing, and usually have a good prognosis

Epithelioid cells
almost round but with some straight edges
Spindle Cells
long thin cells
Risk Factors
Older, fair skin, red hair, blue/green eyes
Tests for Detection and Diagnosis
  • physical exam and history
  • eye exam with dilated pupil (Dr. can look at retina)
  • Ultrasound exam
  • High resolution ultrasound biomicroscopy
  • Ocular coherence tomography
Opthalmoscopy/Slit lamp Biomicroscopy
exam of the inside of the back of the eye to check retina and optic nerve with magnifying lens and light
Gonioscopy
exam of the front part of the eye between the cornea and iris
  • makes sure that fluid drains out of the eye (isn't blocked)
Ultrasound Examination
ultrasound are bounced off internal tissues to make a picture of the inside of the eye
Intraocular Melanoma: Disease to Symptoms
Choroidal Melanoma
comes from blood vessel layer beneath the retina (choroid)
Symptoms
  • Usually no real symptoms, and melanoma found during routine examination
  • if melanoma is near front of eye it can cause irregular astigmatism (blurry vision)
  • detachment of retina, causing symptoms of flashing lights and floating specks
Conjunctival vs. Corneal Melanoma
Even when corneal melanomas develop, usually have some history of conjunctival melanomas


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