Melanoma disease can actually attack the eye, these are the symptoms

Maybe most people know melanoma with skin cancer. Yes, melanoma is a type of cancer that attacks melanocytes, which are the color givers of skin, hair and eyes. Although generally found on the skin, this cancer can also attack the eyes. According to the results of a study by Jovanovic, eye melanoma ranks second only to skin melanoma. Then, what are the symptoms of eye melanoma to look out for?

How often does eye melanoma occur?

Eye melanoma is the most common type of cancer affecting the eyeballs of adults. This cancer is more common in men than women and is found on average in men over the age of 50.

Types of melanoma cancer in the eye

Melanoma cancer can attack various types of parts of the eye, such as:

• Upper and lower eyelids
• Conjunctiva (clear membrane of the eye)
• Iris (color eyeball)
• Ciliary body (which forms the eyeball)
• Choroid (middle layer of eyeball)

What causes melanoma of the eye?

Just like other cancers, melanoma eye cancer is not known for sure what causes it. Even so, there are several things that can trigger or be a risk factor for this eye melanoma, namely:

• The eyes are always exposed to the sun in the long run.
• Light eye color, such as blue or green.
• Have a mole on the eye or on the skin around the eye.

People who have this characteristic or experience it may have a higher risk of developing melanoma cancer than those who do not experience it at all. However, that does not mean that having these characteristics certainly makes the person affected by eye melanoma.

If you have these characteristics and are in doubt about your current health condition, you should immediately consult a doctor.

What are the symptoms of eye melanoma cancer?

Most melanomas do not cause symptoms in the early stages because of their location more often in the eyeball (iris, ciliary body, or choroid). However, at a more advanced stage, several symptoms will appear, such as:

• Blackish spots in the iris area or in the conjunctiva area that are getting bigger
• Visual disturbances

Checks that need to be done

There are various types of examinations that can be done to help confirm a diagnosis of melanoma in the eye.

• Fundoscopy. examination of the inside of the eye by an ophthalmologist using a special instrument after the eye is previously given eye drops to dilate the pupil.
• Ultrasound or MRI, is done to look for the spread of cancer to the area around the eye.
• Fundus autofluorescence. a tool used to create retinal photographs and is one of the most useful tools for detecting melanoma.
• Liver function tests, is done to look for the possibility of spread of cancer and liver cells is one of the most common sites of spread of this type of eye cancer.

Treatment of eye melanoma cancer

Treatment depends on the location, size and spread of cancer cells. Treatment can be removal of the cancer, radiotherapy, removal of the eyeball, or a combination of these treatments.

As a type of cancer that rarely causes symptoms, routine eye examinations once a year are one of the best ways to detect melanoma at an early stage.