Eye

Abstract

Summary Ocular malignancies are a heterogeneous group. Although a great variety of tumours affect the eye, lids and orbit, the most common primary intraocular malignancies are uveal melanoma in adults and retinoblastoma in children. The most common orbital adnexal tumours are ocular adnexal lymphoma and eyelid basal cell carcinoma. Eye cancer treatments vary from observation, excisional surgery and radiotherapy to newer targeted chemotherapy and immunotherapy regimens. In developed countries, early detection and prompt eye cancer treatments result in excellent local control. However, around the world, metastatic choroidal melanoma and retinoblastoma are typically associated with poor survival. Biomarkers for these eye cancers exist, but require both validation and a better understanding of how they can be used to improve patient care. New research has focused on early detection and treatment of metastasis as well as genetic and molecular pathways of pathogenesis. Large multicentre, international cooperative studies are being conducted to collect statistically significant information about the diagnosis and treatment of these rare tumours.