What is Ocular Melanoma?
Ocular melanoma is melanoma of the eye. Melanoma is a cancer that develops from cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes produce the dark-coloured pigment melanin, which is responsible for the colour of our skin. These cells are found in many places in our body, including the skin, hair, and lining of the internal organs, including the eye. Most melanomas begin to grow in the skin, but it is also possible for a melanoma to begin in other parts of the body, such as the eye.
Ocular melanoma is an extremely rare cancer of the eye which involves the melanocyte cells in the eye. These cells can be found all over the body, producing a pigment known as melanin. Ocular melanoma is closely related to melanoma of the skin, since the same type of cell is involved in the cancer. This condition can be fatal, and in patients who do not die from it, the cancer can lead to vision loss and other complications. There are five types of ocular melanoma, named for the regions of the eye in which they occur. The most common is choroidal melanoma, which manifests in the layer of cells under the retina. Melanoma can also attack the iris, the optic nerve, the conjunctive, and the eyelids. People with ocular melanoma usually notice a problem in the form of blurred or distorted vision, and sometimes the melanoma causes a dark spot, cloud, or area of obscurity in the eye. If the melanoma is small, a doctor may recommend observation, rather than immediate action. Small melanomas can
• Ocular melanoma: A type of cancer that develops in the eye. The cancer develops from pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. This cancer becomes more common with increasing age. Ocular melanoma is listed as a “rare disease” by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Ocular melanoma, or a subtype of Ocular melanoma, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Melanoma is a type of tumor that arises from cells called melanocytes, which are responsible for making dark pigment. Most often, melanoma arises in the skin; however, melanocytes are found in many other places in the body where pigment is made. Ocular melanoma is a type of melanoma that arises in the eye. Ocular (or uveal) melanoma behaves differently than skin melanoma. How common is ocular melanoma? It isn’t – in fact, it is very rare. The annual incidence of ocular melanoma in the United States is 6 cases per 1 million persons, or about 1,500 new diagnoses per year. Ocular melanoma, and specifically melanoma of the uveal tract, not only poses a major threat to the function of the eye, but is a potentially fatal condition. What are the symptoms of ocular melanoma? When they grow within the eye, these tumors can cause a variety of problems, including retinal detachment, astigmatism, cataracts, glaucoma, and inflammation. Like melanomas of the skin, they can spread to other sites in t
