Eye Tumors

Tumors that grow in or around the eye can cause vision problems or even host cancer. Many treatments exist to combat these growths before they can do extensive harm.

Definition

• The term "tumor" refers to a swollen mass of tissue, either benign or cancerous in nature. Tumors may affect several parts of the eye, according to the Ocular Oncology Service of Washington University in Saint Louis.

Location

• Eye tumors, both cancerous and noncancerous, can affect the layer underneath the retina (choroid), outer eye surface, iris, eyelid, optic nerve, or even the orbital cavity and tear ducts, according to EyecancerMD.com.

Metastasis

• A cancerous eye tumor may spread to other body tissues or stem from other body tissues. A choroidal metastasis, for instance, often originates as breast cancer.

Symptoms

• Eye tumors may cause no symptoms until the disease has advanced. Symptoms then include impaired vision, bleeding, pain, or a condition called proptosis that causes the eye to bulge.

Treatment

• Slow-growing eye tumors may require observation and monitoring only, while other tumors may respond to radiation, freezing or surgical removal. In some cases the surgeon may have to remove the entire eye.