Eye Melanoma
What is Eye Melanoma ?
Eye melanoma is a type of eye cancer that originates in cells within the eye that produce melanin. Melanin is most often known as the pigment that gives skin its color. But the eyes have cells that make melanin, too. Eye melanoma is also called ocular melanoma, intraocular melanoma, and uveal melanoma.
Most eye melanomas form in parts of the eye you can’t see when looking in a mirror. That makes eye melanoma hard to notice. Eye melanoma typically doesn’t cause symptoms at first. Eye melanoma can be treated. Treatment for small eye melanomas may not cause vision problems. However, treatment for large eye melanomas typically results in some vision loss.
Symptoms
- Blind spots or a reduced field of vision
- Blurred or low vision
- Changes to the position of the eye in the eye socket
- Changes to the size or shape of the pupil
- Dark spot on the iris
- Displaced eye lens
- Double vision
- Eye pain
- Floaters or flashes of light in your field of vision
- Retinal detachment
Cause
It’s not clear what causes eye melanoma. Eye melanoma happens when cells in the eye develop changes in their DNA. A cell’s DNA holds the instructions that tell the cell what to do. In healthy cells, the DNA tells the cells to grow and multiply at a set rate. The DNA also tells the cells to die at a set time. In cancer cells, the DNA changes give different instructions. The changes tell the cancer cells to grow and multiply quickly. Cancer cells can keep living when healthy cells would die. This causes too many cells. The cancer cells might form a mass called a tumor. The tumor can grow to invade and destroy healthy tissue. In time, cancer cells can break away and spread to other parts of the body. When cancer spreads, it’s called metastatic cancer.
Risk Factors
Risk factors for eye melanoma include Light eye color. People with blue eyes or green eyes have a higher risk of melanoma of the eye. Being white. White people have a greater risk of eye melanoma than do people of other races. Age. The risk of eye melanoma goes up with age. Certain inherited skin conditions. A condition called dysplastic nevus syndrome, which causes unusual moles, can raise the risk of eye melanoma. People who have a condition called ocular melanocytosis are also at higher risk of eye melanoma. This condition involves unusual skin pigmentation on the eyelids and in the tissue around the eyelids. It also leads to more pigmentation on the eye’s uvea. Certain genetic changes. Some DNA changes that are passed from parents to children may raise the risk of eye melanoma. Exposure to ultraviolet light. Some research suggests that exposure to ultraviolet light could raise the risk of eye melanoma. Sources of ultraviolet light include the sun, as well as tanning beds.
When to see a Doctor
Make an appointment with a healthcare professional if you have any symptoms of eye melanoma. If you notice sudden changes in your vision, seek emergency medical care right away.