Intraocular Extension of Conjunctival Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Conjunctival squamous carcinoma, which is regarded as a low-grade malignancy, usually originates at the limbus. Most cases remain superficial to the sclera. Intraocular invasion is rarely reported. We describe a woman misdiagnosed as conjunctivitis and pterygium before a clinical diagnosis of conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma. The diagnosis was made by histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen. Examination revealed an elevated mass on the nasal limbus extending intraocularly. White flaky mass occupied approximately 3/7 space of the anterior chamber. Exenteration was performed for control of local lesion. Histopathologic analysis confirmed that intraocular involvement occurs through the emissary vessels near the area of limbus. The case highlights the need for accurate diagnosis and prompt intervention. A brief review of the clinical and histopathologic features of conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma is also presented.

Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia with Intraocular Extension: Clinical and Ultrasound Biomicroscopic Findings

“…In accordance with previous studies, there was a marked male preponderance in our series [3,12]. Mean age of patients in the current study was younger than reported in most other series [1,4,[13][14][15].…”

Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Conjunctiva First Misdiagnosed as a Pterygium: A Clinicopathologic Case Report

“…Olasode et al, 9 in their case presentation that reported invasive SCC initially diagnosed as an inflamed pterygium, stressed that a high index of suspicion is crucial to prevent a delay in the diagnosis of an invasive condition and not to cause complete involvement of the eye. Similarly, Zhang et al 10 described a woman misdiagnosed with conjunctivitis and pterygium before a clinical diagnosis of conjunctival SCC was made.…”

Conjunctival Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Corneal Stromal Invasion in Presumed Pterygia: A Case Series

“…For the other 2 cases, however, we suspect that a violation of the Bowman layer during the initial excision allowed for intracorneal stromal invasion. Intraocular involvement of conjunctival SCC occurring through emissary vessels near the area of the limbus has also been reported [15]. …”

“…Although the reported incidence rate ranges from 0.1 to 1.9 per 100,000 persons [4,5,6], OSSN remains the most common ocular surface tumor and conjunctival SCC is the most common ocular malignancy [7,8]. Conjunctival SCC has the potential to locally invade as well as metastasize, with a few case series [9,10,11,12] and case reports [13,14,15,16] identifying intracorneal, intraocular and orbital invasion [17] by conjunctival SCC.…”