Eye cancer can develop in either eyeball, tissues surrounding the eyeball, eyelids, or tear glands in the eye.
Types of Eye Cancer
Depending on the type of cells, the eye cancer is of the following types:
- Melanoma: This is the most common type of eye cancer that affects melanocytes. Melanocytes are responsible for producing pigments in the eye. Cancer begins in these cells and spreads to the conjunctiva.
- Primary ocular lymphoma: This type either develop in the retina or the vitreous of the eye. In some cases, the nerves of the eye are also affected.
- Retinoblastoma: This type of cancer affects the retinal cells.
Depending on the patient’s condition, oral cancers are treated with a multimodal approach. A combination of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, or targeted therapy will be planned according to the tumour size and growth.
- Chemotherapy: Anti-cancer drugs will be administered to the patient to kill cancer cells. This will either be administered before or after the surgery or as a part of palliative care.
- Surgery: The tumour cell and surrounding healthy tissue will be removed by surgery. The doctor may proceed with a minimally invasive approach such as endoscopic surgery to reduce damage and appearance of the mouth. In some cases, reconstructive surgery will also be performed to restore the structure of the mouth. This surgery is mainly required for patients with large tumours in the mouth, throat, or neck.
Radiation therapy: During this procedure, the cancerous cells will be killed with high-intensity radiation beams. Sometimes, radiation therapy is performed to kill what would have remained after the surgery.
The initial symptoms of eye cancer may not be apparent. The symptoms, however, begin to flare up gradually. Hence, any sudden symptom should not be avoided and brought to the physician’s attention. The common symptoms of throat cancer are:
- Sudden loss of vision.
- Blurry vision.
- Seeing flashes of light.
- Change in the size of the pupil.
- Change in the position of the eyeball.
- A visible black spot in the eye.
- Bulging of eyes.
- Pain outside eyes.
Eye cancers are mostly rare and are caused by:
- Exposure to UV radiation.
- Immunosuppressants.
- HPV infection or AIDS.
Upon visiting the hospital, the doctor will conduct the following tests to confirm throat cancer:
- Physical examination: An eye examination is the first test to diagnose eye cancer. The doctor will also examine the exterior of the eye for swollen blood vessels or tumours.
- Imaging Tests: Various tests such as X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs will confirm the appearance of cancer.
- Biopsy: This is the final test in which a small amount of fluid will be retrieved from the eye and examined for the presence of cancer cells.
