Information on Eye Cancer

Eye cancer is a disease in which tumors grow on the parts of the eye. Cancer can grow on several parts of the eye, so knowing the eye's basic structure can help you understand the location and severity of the tumor growths. Cancer in the eye can cause severe vision loss and even blindness, so patients who are genetically predisposed to the disease should have regular checkups with an eye doctor.

The Eye

• The eye has several parts, but the main parts associated with cancer are the retina, uvea and sclera. The sclera is the outer layer of the eye that protects it. It is continuous with the cornea, which is the bulge seen in the front of the iris and the pupil. The uvea is composed of three parts: the iris, choroid and the ciliary body. The iris is the colored part of the eye. The choroid is a layer of tissue that brings vascularization to the retina. The ciliary body is a muscle that changes the shape of the eye's lens. The lens is a focal point for light, so it changes shape to help you focus on objects near and far. Finally, the retina is responsible for vision. It is composed of nerves that send visual messages to the brain.

Primary Intraocular Cancer

• Primary intraocular cancers begin inside the eyeball. Most cancers of they eye are melanomas. Melanomas are cancers that arise from tumors in melanocytes, which are the source for pigmentation. Primary intraocular cancers can also be lymphomas, which is cancer of the white blood cells. These two types of cancers of the eye are most common in adults.

Retinoblastoma

• Retinoblastoma is a condition that mainly affects children. Retinoblastomas are normally hereditary. The occur in the womb as the child's eye cells develop. During gestation, the child's retina cells rapidly divide. After several divisions, the cells stop dividing and become differentiated into mature retinal cells. In children with retinoblastoma, the cells do not mature and instead continue to divide, causing tumor growth and cancer.

Secondary Intraocular Cancer

• Secondary tumor growths in the eye are caused when other parts of the body develop cancer and these cells travel to the eye. A common source for secondary intraocular cancers is the lungs. Lung cancer has a high chance for metastasis, and its cancer tissue can travel to other parts of the body, including the eye. The lung cells attach to healthy cells in the eye and damage them.

Orbital and Adnexal

• Orbital and adnexal cancers do not necessarily grow on the eye, but they affect the muscles surrounding the eye. They also can affect the eye's surrounding skin like the eyelid and nerve fibers, making it difficult to open and close the eye or control eye movement. Cancers that affect the muscles around the eye are called rhabdomyosarcomas.