Malignant Melanoma

The importance of routine eye examinations cannot be understated. That is because it is often during a regular eye exam that serious conditions such as malignant melanoma are discovered.

This condition usually affects older adults and is a type of cancer that is related to skin cancer (melanoma). Only one eye is affected and it usually is detected in the choroid, the ciliary body or sometimes the iris.

If malignant melanoma is suspected, you will probably have to undergo a fluorescein angiography study and echography (ultrasound) of the eye. These tests and others will help to stage the cancer. Based on that information, your ocular oncologist will make recommendations regarding your treatment.

The important factors that affect outcome include the size and location of the tumor. For patients who have small tumors that have stayed in one location (localized), malignant melanoma is usually curable and they have a good chance of preserving their vision. For patients with larger tumors that have spread, a number of treatments are available, including enucleation (removal of the eye), laser photocoagulation, plaque radiotherapy and transpupillary thermotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy (use of a vaccine to stimulate the person's own immune response to the tumor), among others. The Wills Eye Ocular Oncology Service is also participating in a large collaborative study, sponsored by the National Eye Institute, that is helping to improve the outcomes for persons with this type of eye cancer.