Comprehensive Eye Cancer Care
About Eye Cancer
When eye cancer develops in and around the eye, it requires the knowledge and experience of specialists who can treat your cancer and save your life, save the involved eye, and preserve your vision. There are many types of eye cancers, including melanoma of the eye, lymphoma of the eye, and tumors that spread to the eye from other organs. There are also benign eye tumors that grow on the eyelid or within the wall of the eye (choroidal nevi), and abnormal overgrowths of blood vessels surrounding or inside the eye (hemangiomas).
Each condition benefits from the skill of Duke’s eye cancer team, which includes experts in retinal surgery, corneal surgery, oculoplastics-reconstructive surgery, and medical, surgical, and radiation oncology.
Treatments for Eye Cancer
Your doctor will develop a treatment plan for your eye cancer based on the type of cancer, the size of the tumor, and the stage of your condition.
Chemotherapy
Drugs that kill cancer cells may be injected directly into the eye or the veins, or taken by mouth. Sometimes they can be in the form of eye drops as well.
Radiation Therapy
High-energy X-rays target cancer cells and halt or slow their growth. We use dose-modulation techniques to limit the complications of radiation therapy in the eye.
Plaque Brachytherapy
A radiation source is placed directly onto the eye to reduce exposure to the rest of the body. This treatment is highly effective in treating malignant eye cancers while avoiding radiation exposure to the brain or other organs.
External Beam Radiation Therapy
This treatment is used for wider areas in and around the eyeball and face.
Surgical Remover of the Tumor
This surgery removes the part of the eye affected by tumor growth.
Cryosurgery
Liquid nitrogen freezes and kills tumor cells to stop cancer growth.
Vitrectomy
A type of retinal surgery to treat damage, such as bleeding or retinal detachment, caused by eye cancer or treatments for eye cancers. The procedure involves removing diseased scar tissue from the middle of the eye (the vitreous gel) to restore or improve sight. Using this advanced surgical technique, our eye cancer surgeons can help obtain small sample biopsies and treat complications of radiation treatment.
Enucleation
In some cases, it may be necessary to remove the entire eyeball to treat the tumor. Implant and a prosthetic (artificial) eye help restore the appearance in such cases.
Laser Therapy
Highly focused beams of light destroy abnormal cells in the eyes. Two types include:
- Transpupillary thermotherapy: When melanoma of the eye is present, an infrared light may be used to kill the tumor.
- Laser photocoagulation: This laser therapy may be used to treat side effects of eye cancer treatments.
Medication Management
Medications that block the creation of abnormal cells in the eye or help limit the side effects of treatment and maintain vision may also be prescribed.
Immunotherapy
These are drugs targeting your immune system, which are used in cases of widespread cancer, or when the eye cancer has spread elsewhere in the body
Tests
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
A computer-guided imaging device creates a 3D map of the optic nerve and the macula of the retina. It is used to detect the earliest signs of eye cancer and to monitor for changes or side effects following treatment. It gives a microscopic view of the retina.
Fluorescein Angiography
After a dye is injected into your arm, a specialized camera is used to captures images that can help identify new or leaking blood vessels in your eye.
High-Resolution Ultrasound
Noninvasive sound waves travel through closed eyelids. They bounce off your retina and other parts of your eye to create images that help your doctor determine the size and location of tumors.
Biopsy
Your doctor takes a tissue sample of the suspicious growth inside your eye to determine whether cancer is present. This procedure is performed in the operating room while you are under sedation.
Imaging Scans
MRI, CT, and PET scans may be performed to determine where metastatic eye tumors originated, or whether your eye cancer has spread to other parts of your body.