overview
Illustration shows where the melanoma of the eye occurs
Position of the eye melanoma Open the popup dialog
Melanoma is a type of cancer that grows in cells that make melanin – the pigment that gives your skin its color. Your eyes also have melanin-producing cells and can develop melanoma. The eye melanoma is also known as ocular melanoma.
Most ocular melanomas form in the part of the eye that you cannot see when you look in a mirror. This makes it difficult to identify melanoma of the eye. In addition, eye melanoma does not usually cause any early signs or symptoms.
Treatment for ocular melanoma is available. Treatment of some small eye melanomas may not affect your eyesight. However, treatment for large ocular melanoma usually results in loss of vision. Intraocular melanoma Treatment in Hyderabad
symptoms
The melanoma of the eye must not cause any signs or symptoms. When they do occur, the signs and symptoms of ocular melanoma can include:
- A feeling of lightning or dust spots in your sight (swimmer)
- A growing dark spot on the iris
- A change in the shape of the black circle (pupil) in the center of your eye
- Poor or blurred vision in one eye
- Loss of peripheral vision
The reasons
It is not known what causes ocular melanoma.
Doctors know that ocular melanoma occurs when defects in the DNA of healthy eye cells develop. DNA defects tell cells to grow and multiply out of control, so the mutated cells continue to live when they would normally die. The mutated cells accumulate in the eye and form an ocular melanoma. Intraocular melanoma Treatment in Hyderabad
Risk factors
Risk factors for primary melanoma of the eye include:
- Clear eye color. People with blue or green eyes are at higher risk of developing ocular melanoma.
- Be white Whites are at higher risk of developing ocular melanoma than people of other races.
- Age. The risk of ocular melanoma increases with age.
- Certain hereditary skin conditions. A condition called dysplastic nevus syndrome that causes abnormal moles can increase the risk of developing melanoma on your skin and in your eyes.
Complications
Complications of ocular melanoma can include:
- Increased pressure in the eye (glaucoma). Growing eye melanoma can cause glaucoma. The signs and symptoms of glaucoma may include eye pain and redness, and blurred vision.
Loss of vision. Large ocular melanomas often cause loss of vision in the affected eye and can lead to complications such as retinal detachment, which also lead to vision loss. - Small eye melanomas can cause vision loss if they occur in critical parts of the eye. You may have difficulty seeing in the middle of your line of vision or to the side. Very advanced ocular melanoma can lead to complete loss of vision.
- Eye melanoma that spreads beyond the eye. The melanoma of the eye can spread outside the eye and to remote areas of the body, including the liver, lungs, and bones. Intraocular melanoma Treatment in Hyderabad