What is eye cancer? What are the most prominent types? What are its symptoms? And how treatment of it? These and other questions were asked by Dr. Yaqoub Abdullah Youssef, a consultant ophthalmology and head of the ophthalmology unit at the Hussein Cancer Center in Jordan, and answered them in a special dialogue of the island.
Dr. Youssef is one of the most prominent ophthalmology experts in the Middle East and the Arab world, as he has led the ophthalmology unit since 2013, and after his graduation at the University of Jordan, he obtained advanced fellowships in eye tumors in general, and retinal cancer in children in particular, from the Universities of New York and Toronto.
The doctor, along with his medical team, treats more than a thousand children suffering from retinal cancer and many others, and established a research team to study retinal cancer in children, launched programs for early examination and awareness, and published more than 100 scientific research and participated in more than 80 international lectures. Dr. Youssef won the King Hussein Cancer Research Award twice in appreciation of his distinguished research contributions to eye tumors.
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What is eye cancer?
Eye cancer is abnormal and unlimited growth of cells inside or around the eye tissue. Cancer may affect any organ of the human body, the eye is not an exception, but there are more than 30 types of tumors that may affect the eye and eye quarry.
Cancer can appear in any part of the eye parts such as the retina, the iris, the conjunctiva, the prevalence or even the tissues surrounding the eye such as the eye quarry, where the tear glands, the optic nerve and others.
Although eye cancers are rare compared to other cancers, they may be very dangerous and may lead to visual loss or even death if they are not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner and in the right way.
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What are the most prominent eye cancers?
The type of eye cancer varies according to the age group. When children, the rusk aromatic tumor (Ritinoplastoma) is the most common, and is often discovered before the age of five. The percentage of children with retinal cancer is 1 in 15 thousand births, and in a third of cases the infection in both eyes is together and this cancer is considered a rapidly growing cancer, and although the opportunity to recover from it reaches 95% if it is treated early and in the right way, it is a fatal disease if its diagnosis and treatment is delayed.
In adults, Ocular Melanoma is the most common type of cancer and affects 6 people out of every million people annually, and it tends to have more colored eyes than dark eyes and tends to spread to the liver.
The eye may also affect other types of cancer, such as in -kind lymphoma, and eye -conjunctiva that may appear at the beginning as a harmless growth, but they may turn into dangerous tumors and many others.
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What are the causes of eye cancers?
The causes that may lead to eye cancers vary. As for the Aromi network tumor, the cause is mostly genetically as a result of a boom in a gene called “RP1” (RB1), and this mutation may be transmitted between family members in some cases, especially if the injury is in both eyes.
In other cancers, there are other factors in addition to genetic factors, such as exposure to UV rays for long periods, weak immune system, and exposure to some harmful chemicals. Early diagnosis helps to discover these tumors in their early stages, and then improve healing opportunities.
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What are the symptoms of eye cancer?
Symptoms vary depending on the type and location of the tumor. In the case of retinal aromatic tumor in children, parents may notice a white reflection in the pupil (instead of red) appears in the pictures, which is called the eye of cats, or a deviation (about) in one of the eyes, or a sudden weakness in the eyes. In the very advanced stages appear in the form of a prominent mass outside the eyeball. As for melanin tumors in adults, the patient may complain about seeing black spots or shades in the field of vision, or gradual weakness in the eyesight, or a change in the size or shape of the pupil, or even pain and swelling in the eye.
Therefore, any abnormal change in the eye or vision must push the patient to see the ophthalmologist immediately.
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What are eye cancer treatments? And when is surgery resorting to?
Treatment of eye cancer depends on the type of tumor, its size and its spread. In cases of Retinoplastoma, chemotherapy can be used either intravenously or by arterial catheter, along with topical treatments such as lasers or cooling. In some advanced cases, doctors may resort to eradicating the eyeball to protect the child’s life and prevent the spread of the tumor into important organs such as the brain. In cases of melanoma in adults, treatment may include partial or complete surgery, or radiotherapy by planting Plaque Brachytherapy, which allows the opportunity to preserve the eye and part of vision in 90% of cases.
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How to prevent eye cancers?
Prevention begins with awareness and early detection. In families with a history with Retinoplastoma, it is recommended to perform a comprehensive eye examination for children from birth and at regular intervals in specialized centers.
It is also recommended to use good sunglasses to protect the eyes from UV rays, especially for people who spend a long time in the open air.
Likewise, the periodic examination of the eyes of adults, especially those who have dangerous factors such as family history or weak immunity, contribute to the discovery of tumors in the early stages where the opportunities for treatment and recovery are much better.