Eye Cancer: Risk Factors, Types, Symptoms and Treatment

Eye cancer is the term generally used to describe various types of tumours appearing in different parts of the eye. A tumour appears when cells in or around the eye grow in a disorderly manner.

Tumours are of two types - benign and cancerous. Benign tumours can grow but do not spread. On the contrary, cancerous tumours can grow and spread to other parts of the body. A cancerous tumour occurring within the eyeball is known as intraocular (inside the eye) malignancy.

To fully understand what causes eye cancer, you first need to know the risk factors. Anything that amplifies a person’s chance to develop cancer is known as a risk factor. Risk factors may influence cancer development. But they never cause cancer directly.

As a result, people with multiple risk factors may never develop eye cancer. On the other hand, people with no known risk factor can develop cancer in the eyes.

Some risk factors or eye cancer reasons are listed below.

• Age: The people most likely to be diagnosed with intraocular cancer are over the age of 50. With an average age of diagnosis at 55, intraocular cancer is less common in people above 70 and children.
• Race: As per studies, eye cancer is more common in light-skinned people than dark-complexioned people.
• Gender: Intraocular cancer affects women and men almost equally.
• Personal Medical History: People having nevi or moles in their eyes are more prone to cancer in the eyes.
• Family Medical History: Certain types of intraocular cancer can be genetic and run in the family.
• Others: As per some studies, certain chemicals, radiation exposure and sunlight can put an individual at risk of intraocular cancer.

Although the exact reasons for most eye cancers are unknown, scientists have learnt that certain DNA changes can convert cells to cancer. DNA changes that activate oncogenes or deactivate tumour suppressor genes can cause cancer.

Now that you know the reasons for eye cancer let’s dive in deeper to understand the different types of eye cancer.

Intraocular cancer can be classified into mainly seven categories.

• Melanoma: Melanoma mainly occurs in adults. It starts when melanocyte cells grow uncontrollably. Uveal melanoma is another name for intraocular melanoma.
• Intraocular Lymphoma: Intraocular Lymphoma is a rare condition that doctors find difficult to diagnose.
• Retinoblastoma: Retinoblastoma is a rare form of eye cancer common in children.
• Hemangioma: Hemangioma starts in the blood vessels and appears in the retina and choroid.
• Conjunctival Melanoma: This tumour appears in the conjunctiva, a membrane lining the eyeball and eyelids. Conjunctival melanoma can spread to the lymph nodes if left untreated. In addition, it tends to reappear after the treatment.
• Eyelid Carcinoma: It is a variation of skin cancer and can be surgically removed. It is usually not life-threatening if removed early.
• Lacrimal Gland Tumor: It appears in the lacrimal glands of the eyes that produce tears.

Now, let’s proceed with the eye cancer symptoms.

Eye cancer does not usually show early symptoms. In addition, the advanced stage symptoms may also go unnoticed. However, some prominent signs and symptoms of eye cancer are listed below.

• Eye flashes or eye floaters
• Shadows around images, haloes, blurred vision
• Eye bulging
• Dark moles in the sclera of the eye, increasing in size or bleeding
• Reduced vision with pain
• Iris colour changes
• Tumour or lump in the eyelid, growing and acquiring blood vessels

Children, on the other hand, have a separate set of eye cancer symptoms.

• Excessive tearing
• The centre of the eye becomes white in colour
• Eye swelling and redness

These are the most notable signs of eye cancer for adults and children. Now that you know how to detect eye cancer, let's learn about its different stages.

Doctors conduct several tests to diagnose eye cancer and assess how much it has spread in the body. Some tests can help them determine which treatments are going to be most effective. Doctors consider several factors like age and medical condition, suspected type of cancer, signs and symptoms and previous test results before conducting the tests.

Doctors generally conduct these tests to diagnose eye cancer.

• Eye examination
• Ultrasound
• Fluorescein angiography
• Fine needle biopsy
• Cytogenetics and gene expression profiling
• Computed tomography (CT or CAT) scan
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

Before proceeding with the treatments, doctors recommend an active observation approach based on the diagnosed stage of intraocular cancer. Here, they monitor the patient closely to check if the tumour is growing or spreading aggressively.

Based on the observations, doctors widely follow these eye cancer treatment procedures.

Surgery

Doctors can surgically remove the tumour along with some adjacent healthy tissue. The widely practised surgical options include:

• Iridectomy - Here, doctors remove a part of the iris.
• Iridocyclectomy - In this case, surgeons remove a part of the iris and ciliary body.
• Endoresection or Sclerouvectomy - Here, doctors remove the choroidal tumour but keep the eye
• Enucleation - In this case, surgeons remove the entire eye.

Doctors can also perform surgery to insert a radioactive disc for internal radiation therapy purposes, also known as brachytherapy.

Surgery for eye cancer causes various side effects like general anaesthesia problems, risk of infection and pain.

Radiation Therapy

In radiation therapy, doctors use high-energy x-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells. It usually consists of a schedule, i.e., a specific number of treatments provided over a specific time period.

When doctors provide radiation treatment using implants, it is known as internal radiation therapy, plaque therapy, or brachytherapy. Radiation therapy may bring along several side effects. As a result, doctors first recommend other treatments.

Laser Therapy

In laser therapy, doctors shrink a smaller tumour by applying heat in the form of a laser. It is also known as transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT). Laser therapy comes with potentially lesser side effects than radiation therapy or surgery. Doctors can also perform laser therapy and radiation therapy in tandem.

However, despite enduring the eye cancer treatment cost, recovery is not always possible.

Doctors and scientists have not yet figured out what causes most intraocular cancers. As a result, eye cancer prevention is not possible yet.

However, scientists have discovered a link between sunlight and skin melanomas. So, you can take certain precautions to reduce the risk of developing intraocular cancer. These precautions include limiting sunlight exposure and wearing UV-protected sunglasses.

As per studies, wearing UV-protected sunglasses with over 99% UVA and UVB absorption can protect your eyes. This, in turn, might help bring down the chances of developing intraocular cancer.

Going through all the intricate details presented here, you now have a clearer understanding of eye cancer and the related treatment procedures. You will also be able to minimise the risk of developing this disease with the shared precautions.