What are the signs and symptoms?

Skin cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the cells that produce melanin. It is the pigment that gives your skin its color. Your eyes also contain melanin-producing cells and you can develop melanoma. Melanoma of the eye is also called ocular melanoma.

Most ocular melanomas form in a part of the eye that you can’t see when you look at yourself in the mirror. This makes it difficult to detect melanoma in the eye. Also, ocular melanoma usually does not cause early signs or symptoms.

There is a treatment for melanoma in the eye. Treating some small eye melanomas should not interfere with your vision. However, treatment of large ocular melanomas usually results in some vision loss.

Symptoms of eye cancer

Ocular melanoma may not cause any signs and symptoms. When they do occur, signs and symptoms of skin cancer may include:

Sensation of flashes or dust particles in sight (floaters).
Growing dark spot on the iris
Change in the shape of the dark circle (pupil) in the center of the eye
Double or blurred vision in one eye
Peripheral vision loss

When do you see a doctor?

Make an appointment with your doctor if you have any signs or symptoms that worry you. Sudden changes in your vision indicate an emergency, so seek immediate help in these situations.

Causes of eye cancer

The cause of ocular melanoma is not clear. Doctors know that eye melanoma occurs when errors arise in the DNA of healthy cells in the eye. These DNA errors cause cells to grow and multiply uncontrollably. So the mutated cells continue to live when they die naturally. Mutant cells accumulate in the eye and form ocular melanoma.

Where does eye skin cancer occur?

Skin cancer usually develops in the cells of the middle layer of the eye (the uvea). The uvea consists of three parts and each of them can be affected by melanoma in the eye:

The iris is the colored part at the front of the eye
The choroid, the layer of blood vessels and connective tissue between the sclera and retina at the back of the uvea
The ciliary body, located at the front of the uvea, which secretes a clear fluid (aqueous humor) into the eye.
Skin cancer can also occur in the outer layer of the front of the eye (the conjunctiva), in the cavity around the eyeball, and on the eyelid. Although, these types of skin cancers are very rare.

Eye Cancer Risk Factors

Risk factors for primary melanoma of the eye include:

light eye color

People with blue or green eyes are more likely to develop skin cancer.

to be white

White people are more likely to develop skin cancer than people of any other color

age

The risk of developing eye skin cancer increases with age.
Some hereditary skin diseases

A condition called dysplastic nevus syndrome that causes abnormal moles can increase your risk of developing melanoma on the skin and eyes.

In addition, people with abnormal pigmentation of the skin of the eyelids and adjacent tissues and increased eye pigmentation, known as ocular melanoma, also have an increased risk of developing ocular melanoma.

UV exposure

The role of UV exposure in ocular melanoma is unclear. There is some evidence that exposure to UV rays, such as sunlight or tanning beds, can increase the risk of eye cancer.

Certain genetic mutations

Certain genes passed from parents to children can increase the risk of developing eye melanoma.

eye cancer complications

Complications of eye melanoma can include:

Increased pressure in the eye (glaucoma).

A growing melanoma in the eye can cause glaucoma. Signs and symptoms of glaucoma can include eye pain and redness, as well as blurred vision.

loss of vision

Large ocular melanomas often cause vision loss in the affected eye and can cause complications, such as retinal detachment, which also lead to vision loss.

Small eye melanomas can cause some vision loss if they occur in critical areas of the eye. You may have trouble seeing in the center or to the side of your vision. Highly advanced ocular melanomas can lead to complete vision loss.

Ocular melanoma that spreads outside the eye. Ocular melanoma can spread outside the eye and into distant parts of the body, including the liver, lungs, and bones.

sources

Uveal melanoma. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. †

bowling b. eye tumors; In: Kansky’s Clinical Ophthalmology: A Systematic Approach. Eighth Edition. Edinburgh, UK: Elsevier, Ltd.; 2016.

Haven JW, et al. Initial treatment of uveal and conjunctival melanomas. Retrieved July 8, 2018.

Melanoma in the eye (uvea) symptoms, tests, diagnosis and stages (PDQ). National Cancer Institute.