Up-to-date information and resources for ocular melanoma patients and their families
Up-to-date information and resources for ocular melanoma patients and their families
EyeMelanoma.org highlights both ocular melanoma educational materials and patient support resources available on the internet.
Ocular melanoma is a rare cancer that begins in the cells that make the pigment (melanin) in the eye. Both of the terms Eye Melanoma and Ocular Melanoma are used more broadly to describe this type of eye cancer. (Ocular means "of the eye.") There are also more specific medical terms that are used based on the location of the eye tumor:
- Melanoma within the eye (intraocular) is found in the uvea, so the terms lntraocular Melanoma or Uveal Melanoma are used interchangeably. Depending on where the tumor is located within the uvea, the cancer can also be more specifically identified as either Choroidal Melanoma (about 90% of uveal melanomas), Ciliary Body Melanoma, or Iris Melanoma. The uvea — the middle layer of the eye lying above the retina and beneath the sclera and cornea — is the site for melanomas of the eye approx. 95% of the time.
- The other approx. 5% of eye melanomas occur in the conjunctiva membrane that covers the white outer layer (sclera) of the eye and that lines the eyelid, so this is referred to as Conjunctival Melanoma.
Illustration provided with permission from National Institutes of Health's National Eye Institute.