Malignant tumors of the eye and ocular adnexa in Thailand: a six-year review at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

ABSTRACT

Background: There are a limited number of reports on the epidemiology of malignant tumors of the eye and ocular adnexa in Thailand. Objective: To study the relative frequency and patient characteristics of various malignant tumors of the eye and ocular adnexa. Methods: Data from the medical records of the patients diagnosed with malignant tumors of the eye and ocular adnexa during 2000 to 2005, including the patients’ gender, age of presentation, and clinical presentation were collected. Histopathology results were classified by the anatomical location eyelid, conjunctiva, orbit, lacrimal gland, and intraocular tissue. Pathology slides were reviewed. Results: Ninety patient data were studied. The most common presentation was mass (44.6%), followed by proptosis (10.8%), and ulcer (9.6%). Most of the tumors were in male. The most common site was the conjunctiva (35.6%), followed by the eyelid (27.8%), the lacrimal gland (14.4%), the eyeball (10%), and the orbit (8.9%). Conjunctival squamous cell neoplasia (84.4%) was the most common conjunctival malignancy. The average age was 56.4 years. Basal cell carcinoma (64%) was the most common eyelid malignancy. The mean age of presentation was 67.4 years. Lymphoma was a major malignancy of the lacrimal gland (84.6%) and the orbit (62.5%). Retinoblastoma was the most common intraocular malignancy with a mean age of 24 months. There was only one case of corneal malignancy, which was corneal intraepithelial neoplasia. Conclusion: The conjunctiva was the most common location of malignancy of the eye and ocular adnexa. The demographic data help ophthalmologists and epidemiologists to monitor trends of malignancy of the eye and ocular adnexa in this geographic region and provide comparison with other populations.