Eye Cancer Explained
Eye cancer describes many types of tumors that form in, or spread into, the eye. The risk for most eye cancers increases with age and is slightly more common in men. Retinoblastoma is most commonly found in children.
The American Cancer Society estimates 3,540 new cancers (mainly melanomas) of the eye and orbit will be diagnosed in the United States in 2018.
How is eye cancer diagnosed and treated?
An eye examination is the most important step in diagnosing eye cancer. Your ophthalmologist will check your vision and eye movement, as well as examine your eye for tumors, abnormalities, and enlarged blood vessels.
In addition to an eye exam, you doctor may perform the following procedures to confirm an eye cancer diagnosis:
- Imaging tests (including an ultrasound, chest x-ray, CT scan, PET scan, or MRI)
- Biopsy
- Blood tests
If your doctor suspects you have eye lymphoma, he or she may also do a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to determine if the cancer has affected the brain or spinal cord. Depending on the type and stage of eye cancer, treatment options can include surgery, radiation therapy, laser therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Often, doctors use more than one treatment.
Eye Cancer Treatment at Baptist Cancer Center
Patients obtain eye cancer treatment at the Baptist Cancer Center’s Head and Neck Center. Each patient receives the undivided focus of a team of physicians and scientists. This team may include medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, neuroradiologists, and plastic surgeons. They are joined by dentists, nurses, speech pathologists, audiologists, nutritionists, psychologists and social workers with special training in head and neck cancers.
Working together, Whenever possible, Baptist doctors and specialists take careful steps to preserve your vision during treatment.
The Different Types of Eye Cancer
There are two types of primary intraocular cancer (cancers in the eye):
