EYE CANCER

                EYE CANCER 

INTRODUCTION:

Eye cancer can affect all parts of the eye, eyelid, and orbit (the tissues around the eye).Eye cancers can be primary (starts within the eye) and metastatic cancer (spread to the eye from another organ). The two most common cancers that spread to the eye from another organ are breast cancer and lung cancer. Other less common sites of origin include the prostate, kidney, thyroid, skin, colon lymphoma and leukemia.

 TYPES:

The two types of eye cancer are   

Lymphoma   

 Melanoma  

SYMPTOMS:

 Patients with eye cancer may have:

·        decreased ability to see

·        floaters (spots or squiggles drifting in the field of vision) or flashes of light

·        visual field loss (losing part of your field of sight so that instead of seeing all around, you only see part of what is around you)

 ·        a growing dark spot on the iris

 ·        a change in position of the eyeball within its socket

 ·        bulging of the eye

 ·        a change in the way the eye moves within the socket

Pain is quite rare except in cases of massive spread outside the eye. In such a case, bulging or a change in the position of the eye may be noted. Other, less serious conditions can cause some of these symptoms. Floaters, for example, may occur as a normal part of the aging process.  

CAUSES:

Eye cancer is caused due to

·        Inherited melanoma

·        Coloration

·        Exposure to sun

·        Welding

·        Moles

·        Exposure to UV radiations

·        Infection with HIV

·        Human papilloma virus infection

·        Taking drugs to stop organ rejection after transplant 

DIAGNOSING MELANOMA OF THE EYE:

If the ophthalmologist suspects someone has an eye melanoma, he or she will refer him to a specialist centre for eye cancer called ocular oncology centers.   To diagnose melanoma of the eye he may have·        An eye examination     ·        Angiogram     ·        Ultrasound     ·        Other tests  

DIAGNOSING LYMPHOMA OF THE EYE:
To diagnose lymphoma of the eye he may have

·        An eye examination    

·        Ultrasound or MRI scan    

·        A biopsy of the eye (vitreous biopsy)    

·        Lumbar puncture    

·        Bone marrow test  

 TREATMENT:

Generally treatment depends on the severity of the disease. Eye cancer is treated in following ways

Biopsy of Iris Tumors          

Biopsy is done using 2 techniques:Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB).Finger Iridectomy Technique – FIT

Enucleation Surgery – Removal of the EyeEnucleation is removal of the eye. Within 2 to 6 weeks of surgery he will be sent for a temporary ocular prosthesis (plastic-eye).

Eye and Vision Sparing Radiation Therapy for Intraocular Tumors

The two main types of radiation are eye-plaque brachytherapy (e.g. iodine-125, ruthenium-106, and palladium-103) and external beam (proton-beam). In general, external beam therapies are more likely to be associated with external (lids, cornea, iris, and lens) complications and plaques appear to induce earlier radiation retinopathy with few external radiation complications.

Systemic Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy commonly refers to the use of drugs to treat cancer of the eye, lids and orbit. Some of these drugs are also used to treat benign ocular tumors caused by inflammation.

Radiotherapy and laser surgery are also used.  

SKIN CARE AROUND THE EYE:
The following guidelines will help promote comfort and healing of the area involved.
• Wash the eye lids with mild soap and lukewarm water and gently pat dry.
• Avoid extreme temperatures (e.g. hot showers, hot water bottles, heating pads, or ice bags) on the affected area.
• Avoid any friction or eyelid rubbing or scratching.
• Radiation blepharitis (eyelid inflammation) can be treated with silvadine ointment, black tea soaks, or A&D ointment. 

DIET:

To stay away from cancer include the following in diet:

Soy and broccoli, Pizza(without cheese and pepperoni),Spinach, fruit salad, black berries, pomegranate, pumpkin, beet and arugula salad, parsley, sprout, tomato couscous, garlic soup, lemon couscous, nappa risotto, apples, peanut, chicken, noodles, corn-on-the-cob, lettuce, potatoes, strawberries etc.

 Avoid intake of candies and chocolates.

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