Table of contents:
- Definition
- What is eye cancer?
- Intraocular melanoma
- Orbital cancer and adnexal cancer
- How common is this disease?
- Signs & symptoms
- What are the signs and symptoms of eye cancer?
- Cause
- What causes eye cancer?
- Risk factors
- What increases the risk of eye cancer?
- Diagnosis & Treatment
- How is eye cancer diagnosed?
- Eye health test
- Eye imaging test
- Other health tests
- How are the results of the diagnosis of vision cancer?
- TNM system
- COMS group system
- How to treat eye cancer?
- Cancer surgery
- Radiotherapy
- Laser therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Home remedies
- What are some lifestyle changes or home remedies that can be done to treat eye cancer?
- Prevention
- How do you prevent eye cancer?
Definition
What is eye cancer?
Eye cancer or ocular cancer is a cancer that attacks the eye tissue. These abnormal cells can attack the eyeball which is equipped with major layers such as the sclera, uvea, and retina.
In addition, cancer cells can also attack the tissue surrounding the eyeball, even the adnexal structures (appendages), such as the eyelids and tear glands.
Cancer that starts in the eye is called primary intraocular cancer, while if it starts elsewhere and spreads to the eye, it is called secondary intraocular cancer.
Based on the area, ocular cancer is classified into several types, namely:
Intraocular melanoma
Melanoma eye cancer, the most common type of eye cancer in adults, usually starts inside the eyeball. However, when compared to the skin, melanoma that occurs in the eye is quite rare.
This type of cancer occurs in pigment-making cells called melanocytes. Apart from inside the eyeball, melanoma can also be uvea, which is the middle layer of the eye consisting of the iris, choroid, and ciliary body.
This eye melanoma can spread through the blood vessels and often attacks the liver, but the spread is quite slow because it takes years.
Abnormal cells can also be in the conjunctiva, which is the thin layer that protects the white area of the eye. This type of cancer is quite rare, but can grow and spread rapidly through the bloodstream and lymphatic system.
Meanwhile in children, the most common eye cancers are retinoblastoma (cancer of the retina) and medulloepithelioma (cancer of the ciliary body).
Orbital cancer and adnexal cancer
Orbital and adnexal cancer attacks the muscles, nerves and skin around the eyeball. This cancer is quite rare than intraocular melanoma cancer.
How common is this disease?
Eye cancer is a type of cancer that can affect both adults and children. Only the types of cancer are generally different.
Cancer that attacks the sense of sight is not a common type of cancer in Indonesia. Even so, it is important to reduce the risk of this disease in order to stay healthy.
Signs & symptoms
What are the signs and symptoms of eye cancer?
The characteristics of eye cancer in children and adults are generally not felt at an early stage. Symptoms will begin to appear when eye cancer enters an advanced stage.
Common symptoms of eye cancer include:
- Vision problems arise, such as sudden blurred vision or inability to see
- There are spots or flashes of light when you see something (floaters).
- Dark spots appear on the iris of the eye.
- The shape or size of the pupil (the dark spot in the center of the eye) changes.
- The eyes seem to bulge.
- Eye movement or eye position changes.
- There is pain when the tumor has formed and is enlarging outside the eye
Everyone shows different symptoms of eye cancer. In fact, there are also those who feel other cancer symptoms and are not mentioned above.
When to see a doctor?
If you experience the above symptoms that are suspected to be a sign of eye cancer, see a doctor immediately. Especially if it doesn't heal within a few weeks.
Early detection of disease can make treatment easier and improve the quality of life for patients with cancer.
Cause
What causes eye cancer?
The cause of eye cancer in children and adults is not known with certainty. However, scientists have observed that mutations in DNA in cells are likely to be the cause. This is because DNA contains a series of commands for the cell.
If a DNA mutation occurs, a series of commands will be damaged, making the cells abnormal and causing cancer.
In some people, the DNA mutation is inherited by a parent with the BAP1, GNA11, or GNAQ genes. People who inherit the gene have a greater risk of ocular cancer.
Risk factors
What increases the risk of eye cancer?
Although the exact cause of eye cancer is not known, there are several factors that can increase the risk, such as:
- People who have light eyes are more likely to develop uveal melanoma.
- Ocular cancer is more common in elderly men.
- Have a mole on the eye or on the skin near the eye.
- Have a family member with a history of ocular cancer.
- People with dysplastic nevus syndrome (having abnormal moles on the skin) and people with oculodermal melanocytosis or Ota nevus (having abnormal brown spots on the uvea).
Diagnosis & Treatment
How is eye cancer diagnosed?
The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.
Eye cancer causes symptoms similar to signs of aging or other eye problems. Therefore, to make a diagnosis, the doctor will ask you to take a series of medical tests, such as:
Eye health test
The doctor will check vision, movement, and other symptoms that appear in the eye. To examine the inner eye and detect a tumor, the doctor will insert an ophthalmoscope or use a genioscopic lens.
Eye imaging test
The types of imaging used are ultrasound biomicroscopy, making a detailed image of the front of the eye with sound waves) and optical coherence tomography (making a detailed image of the back of the eye with light waves).
Your doctor may ask you to perform fluorescent angiography, which is an injection of a special fluid into a vein to provide a color, then uses light waves to produce an image.
Other health tests
If the doctor believes the abnormal cells have metastasized or originated from another area outside the eye, a chest x-ray, biopsy (taking tissue to test for cancer), or blood tests may be done.
How are the results of the diagnosis of vision cancer?
In addition to establishing a diagnosis, the above tests also help doctors determine the diagnosis of ocular cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, your doctor will use two systems to determine the condition of your ocular cancer.
TNM system
- The letter T (tumor) is used as a marker for the size and extent of the primary tumor.
- The letter N (lymph nodes) is used as a marker for the spread of cancer to the nearby lymph nodes.
- The letter M (metastatic) is used as a marker of the spread of cancer to other tissues or organs located far apart, for example the liver.
Each letter will be equipped with a number and letter (a, b, and c) which indicate the stage and condition of further cancer.
COMS group system
- Small (small): has a tumor measuring 1-3 mm high by 5-16 mm wide.
- Medium (medium): has a tumor measuring 3.1-8 mm high and not more than 16 mm wide.
- Large (large): has a tumor measuring more than 8 mm in height by a width of more than 16 mm.
This system is simpler than the TNM system, but can only be used for intraocular melanoma type cancer.
How to treat eye cancer?
Cancer treatments are very diverse. However, each type of cancer may be treated differently. Here's how to treat eye cancer that is commonly done, including:
Cancer surgery
Surgery is the main way to treat ocular cancer. This treatment aims to remove tumors and cancer cells so that they do not spread and attack healthy tissues and organs. Several types of surgery are performed, including:
- Iridectomy: The procedure to remove part of the iris (the colored part of the eye). This treatment is an option for melanoma of the very small iris.
- Iridotrabeculectomy: The procedure to remove part of the iris, plus a small part of the outside of the eyeball.
- Iridocyclectomy: The procedure to remove part of the iris and ciliary body. This surgery is also used for small iris melanomas.
- Transscleral resection: Surgical removal for melanoma of the ciliary or choroid bodies. This type of surgery is only performed by specialist surgeons because it is difficult to remove the tumor without damaging the rest of the eye.
- Enucleation: Surgical removal of the entire eyeball. This medical procedure is used for larger melanomas. However, it can also be done for some smaller melanomas if you have lost your vision or if other treatment options are also causing blindness.
- Orbital exenteration: The procedure to remove the eyeball and some of the surrounding structures such as part of the eyelid and muscles, nerves, and other tissues in the eye socket.
This cancer treatment has side effects, such as pain, bleeding, blood clots, and infection.
Radiotherapy
The next way to treat eye cancer is radiotherapy. This treatment relies on X-ray energy to kill cancer cells. Radiotherapy can be done before surgery to shrink the tumor or after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells.
The side effects of this medication are dry eyes, cataracts, eye bleeding, or eye damage. To prevent these side effects, radiation therapy is only performed on the part of the eye that has abnormal cells.
Laser therapy
If surgery or radiation is not possible, the next cancer treatment option is laser therapy.
Laser therapy for eye cancer consists of transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT), which is laser treatment using infrared light to kill the tumor and laser photocoagulation, which is laser treatment using light.
The side effects of this treatment are bleeding, blockage of the blood vessels in the eye, and a high risk of recurrence.
Chemotherapy
The drugs used in chemotherapy are not effective in treating eye cancer. Therefore, chemotherapy is used as an additional treatment if the cancer has spread to other areas of the body.
Side effects that may occur due to chemotherapy are hair loss, body weakness, nausea, and vomiting.
Home remedies
What are some lifestyle changes or home remedies that can be done to treat eye cancer?
In addition to undergoing the cancer treatment that doctors recommend, you must also adjust your lifestyle for cancer patients.
Your doctor will help you develop a treatment plan, cancer diet, exercise, and other complementary treatments to support the effectiveness of your doctor's treatment.
Do not use herbal medicines as a mainstay for treating cancer. The reason is, the effectiveness of the drug has not been fully proven to be effective. Therefore, consult further with a cancer specialist if you want to use herbal medicines.
Prevention
How do you prevent eye cancer?
Until now, scientists are still doing research on various possible ways to prevent eye cancer. However, researchers say you should protect your skin and eyes from direct sun exposure by wearing a hat or long clothes and applying sunscreen.
