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
Treatments Overview
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
Description
Drugs that kill cancer cells may be injected directly into the eye or the veins, or taken by mouth.
Radiation Therapy
Description
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
Description
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.
Description
This treatment is used for wider areas in and around the eyeball and face.
Laser Therapy
Description
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.
Cryosurgery
Description
Liquid nitrogen freezes and kills tumor cells to stop cancer growth.
Eye-Preserving Surgery
Description
This surgery removes the part of the eye affected by tumor growth.
Enucleation
Description
In some cases, it may be necessary to remove the entire eye. Reconstructive surgery to preserve function and appearance may be necessary.
Vitrectomy
Description
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.
Medication Management
Description
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.
