What Is The Survival Rate For Ocular Melanoma?

Ocular melanoma is an eye cancer characterized by an uncontrollable division of the pigment-producing cells in the eye. It can affect various parts of the eye. It usually develops as secondary cancer due to skin cancer. Its risk factors involve white skin, light-colored eyes, overexposure to the sunlight, exposure to UV rays, and many more.

Its symptoms include blurred vision, flashes of light, dark spots in the eyes, etc. this article focuses on the survival rate of this cancer.

The survival rate of ocular melanoma is dependent on the spread of the melanoma, whether it is restricted to the eye or other parts of the body.⁽¹⁾ It also depends on the size of the tumor at the time of the diagnosis and exact parts of the eye affected by this cancer.⁽²⁾ The ACS (American Cancer Society) has set measurement for the outlook for ocular melanoma using the five-year relative survival rate. It helps to estimate the likelihood of survival of the patient with this cancer for five years after its diagnosis as compared to a person who does not have cancer.⁽³⁾

The survival rate of the patients with ocular melanoma according to the size of the tumor-

If small-sized eye melanoma is diagnosed, then it is estimated that nearly 8 out of every ten people (80%) with this cancer will survive for at least five years after diagnosis.
If medium-sized melanoma is diagnosed, then it is estimated that nearly 7 out of every ten people (70%) with this cancer will have a survival rate of 5 years after the diagnosis.

If a large-sized melanoma is detected, then only 5 out of every ten people (50%) with this cancer will survive for the next five years after diagnosis.⁽²⁾

The survival rate of people with ocular melanoma according to the spread of the tumor-

According to ACS, the survival rate related to the spread of the cancer are listed below-

If the cancerous growth is limited to the eye and its parts only, then the 5- year survival rate of such people is approximately 85%.
If the cancerous growth has spread to other parts such as liver, then the relative five-year survival rate of the patients with such extensive cancer spread drops to only 19%.⁽³⁾

Ocular melanoma or eye melanoma is rare cancer that appears in the pigment-producing cells of the eye. It commonly develops in the uvea, the layer present between the retina and white of the eye. This cancer can be categorized into two types. One is primary cancer that begins from the eye, and the other is secondary cancer that has started in different parts of the body and has spread to the eye. Usually, ocular melanoma is secondary cancer that has started in the skin and has spread to the eye.⁽⁴⁾

Ocular melanoma is characterized by the appearance of a dark spot in the eye that tends to grow. Other symptoms include a sensation of flashing lights in the visual fields, blurred vision, watery eyes, and loss of peripheral vision. It is more common in people who are above 50 years. White people with light eye color are more prone to develop this cancer. Exposure to UV light, overexposure to sunlight, atypical moles, and Caucasian race are at higher risk of developing this cancer.⁽⁴⁾

Conclusion

The survival rate of ocular melanoma is dependent on the size of the tumor in the eye and its spread to other parts of cancer. If the size of the cancer is small, the survival rate is 80 %, and if it is large, the survival rate is 50%. If it is limited to the eyes, the 5-year survival rate is 85%, and if it spread to the other parts of the body, it is only 19 %.

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What Is The Survival Rate For Ocular Melanoma?