Eye melanoma – cancer formation in cells producing pigment. Pathology often occurs in the middle eye-layer. It may form on conjunctiva. It’s quite difficult to identify them, also taking into account the fact that in the early stages the ailment doesn’t have specific symptomatology.
Causes of eye melanoma
It’s still not exactly defined why melanomas of the eye occur. But there are claims people who were born with some kind of eye neoplasm, as well as light-eyed ones, face this problem frequently.
Next-mentioned points may provoke tumor formation.
- Prolonged direct exposure to light.
- Belonging to the age category 35-60.
- Hereditary skin diseases that provoke high-pigmentation.
- Moles on eye-surface.
Symptoms of eye melanoma
The disease may not manifest itself at all, the patient simply will not know that he has encountered a problem unless he resorts to a professional examination.
As the disease progresses, next-mentioned occurs:
- dark spots on iris;
- blurred vision, appearance of blind spots in lateral-vision;
- appearance of flickering glare in eyes;
- modifications of pupils’ shape.
Diagnosis of eye melanoma
On examination, detecting ailment is enough. Doctors may resort to the following types of diagnostics:
- ultrasound;
- fundus autofluorescence;
- optical coherence tomography;
- biopsy.
Based on the outcomes obtained, specialists are able to identify melanoma and prescribe necessary therapies. Doctors can refer the patient to other specialists to conduct additional tests (this is how it is determined whether tumor is spreading to other organs).
Treatment of eye melanoma
If a specialist has diagnosed such ailment, then further therapies are dependent on its location, size and general health. Mostly, radiation or surgical manipulations are prescribed.
When irradiated, therapies are applied, which are implemented by attaching radioactive-seeds to the disc and placing this thing directly on the wall of the eye near the tumor. The structure is attached with temporary sutures for 4-5 days, then removed.
In surgery, operations are performed to remove the tumor and part of the healthy tissue that surrounds it. If the patient has a large neoplasm that interferes with normal visual perception, provokes pain and affects the optic nerve, complete eye deletion may be required. Doctors suggest an artificial implant.
Radiation and surgery can harm patients’ vision, so it is recommended to visit ophthalmologists every year and undergo an eye examination to make sure that the eyes are healthy or to identify problems at the earliest stages of their development.
