Eye Cancer

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What is Eye Cancer?

Eye cancer starts from major parts of the eyes which include the:

eyeball
orbit
adnexal structures such as eyelids and tear glands

Cancer of the eye is a malignancy that starts and grows in your eye. A malignancy is a group of cells that are cancerous (non-typical cells that grow quickly and uncontrolled) and that can spread to other sites in the body or invade and destroy tissues. Cancer can also sometimes develop in the tissues surrounding your eyeball or spread to the eye from other parts of the body, such as the lungs or breasts.

The most common type of eye cancer is melanoma, also known as ocular melanoma. Melanoma is a type of cancer that develops in the cells responsible for producing the pigment that gives your skin, hair and eyes color. Just as you can develop a melanoma on your skin, you can also develop it in your eye.

Numerous individuals with eye melanoma don’t have symptoms except if the disease develops in certain parts of the eye or turns out to be further developed.

Symptoms of eye melanoma could include:

Persistent bone pain that gets worse over time
Persistent or unusual swelling and redness (inflammation) over a bone, which can make movement difficult if the affected bone is near a joint
A noticeable lump over a bone

The following will increase your risk of developing eye melanoma:

Age & Gender – Increasing risk as the increase in age and higher risk among men than women.
Family history – Inherited disorder that increase the risk of eye melanoma.
Moles – Certain types of moles have been associated with a higher risk of unveal eye melanoma.

Diagnosis

The recommended diagnosis for eye melanoma are:

Eye Exam

To examine the structure of the eyes to determine the growth of tumors.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

To produce the image of the retina and uveal tract for further evaluation.

Biopsy

A procedure to remove tissue samples, used to determine whether any of the tissue cells are cancerous or precancerous.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan

MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, radiofrequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of eye structure.

Computerized Tomography (CT) scan

X-rays and a computer is used to produce detailed pictures on tissue details, tumour size and extent of spread.

Treatment

The treatment that may be recommended:

Surgery

To remove the tumour until the margins (edges) are negative (free of tumour).

Most basal cell carcinomas are cured when they are small. In some cases, combinations of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy may be required to control or destroy the tumour.

Chemotherapy

is a treatment option that involves the use of drugs given by injection or, occasionally, orally to prevent the cancer cells’ ability from dividing and reproducing. Chemotherapy treats cancer by penetrating the tissues and organs via the bloodstream.

Targeted therapy

works by acting on specific cellular processes by targeting cellular proteins to inhibit growth and development of cancer cells.

Arrest the development of new blood vessels that feed the cancer cell
Trigger the immune system to attack the cancer cell
Change proteins within the cancer cell
Block or turning off signals telling the cancer cell to grow or divide
Carry toxins directly to the cancer cell
Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer by stimulating the immune system to help it do its job more effectively. It uses molecular mechanisms and immunomodulating drugs to kill cancer cells or limit their growth.

At Beacon Hospital’s Cancer Centre, treatment may comprise a number of healthcare professionals depending on the type of treatment. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach which the clinical oncologist, medical oncologist, physician, neurologist, neurosurgeon, cancer nurses, as well as other allied health professionals such as dietician, physiotherapists, speech and occupational therapists.

Radiotherapy

uses high doses of radiation to destroy lymphoma cells to prevent them from spreading or to shrink the tumor and typically used for the small to medium sized eye melanoma.

Halcyon™ 4.0 Radiotherapy System

Halcyon™ 4.0 Radiotherapy System at Beacon Hospital enables:

Fast and precise X-ray dose delivered to each tumour with high accuracy over a minimum number of treatment sessions
Reduces unwanted radiation dose, thus, minimising side effects

At Beacon Hospital’s Cancer Centre, treatment may comprise a number of healthcare professionals depending on the type of treatment. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach which includes a clinical oncologist, medical oncologist, radiologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, cancer nurses, as well as other allied health professionals such as dietitian and physiotherapists.

Truebeam® 4.1 Radiosurgery and Radiotherapy System

Truebeam® 4.1 Radiosurgery/Radiotherapy System at Beacon Hospital offers:

HyperArc™ High-Definition Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery

HyperArc™ high-definition Radiotherapy system represents a significant step forward for high quality Linac-based Radiosurgery, with an easy delivery of non-coplanar Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) treatments. HyperArc™ could irradiate multiple tumours at the same time without repositioning the patient, which provides better management of patient motions while saving time for the patient and the clinical team. HyperArc™ ensures the planners achieve extremely compact dose distributions consistently and efficiently while maintaining patient safety.

Latest Highlights

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Centres of Excellence

Cancer Specialist Centre

Bone & Joint Centre

Brain & Spine Centre

Eye Specialist Centre

Men’s Health & Urology Centre

Women’s Specialist Centre

Health Screening & Wellness Centre

Clinical Research Center

Prognosis

The outlook relies upon the size of the tumor when it’s diagnosed. The prognosis is better if the disease is contained inside the eye and has not spread to different parts of the body.