Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffYour eye melanoma treatment options will depend on the location and size of the eye melanoma, as well as your overall health and your preferences.
Waiting to treat small eye melanomas
A small eye melanoma may not require immediate treatment. If the melanoma is small and isn't growing, you and your doctor may choose to wait and watch for signs of growth. If the melanoma grows or causes complications, you may choose to undergo treatment at that time.
Surgery
Operations used to treat eye melanoma include procedures to remove part of the eye or a procedure to remove the entire eye. Options may include:
- Surgery to remove the melanoma and a small area of healthy tissue. Surgery to remove the melanoma and a band of healthy tissue that surrounds it may be an option for treating small melanomas. What procedure you'll undergo depends on the size and location of your eye melanoma. For instance, surgery to remove a small melanoma affecting the iris is called iridectomy. Surgery to remove a melanoma in the choroid is called choroidectomy.
- Surgery to remove the entire eye (enucleation). Enucleation is often used for large eye tumors. It may also be used if the tumor is causing eye pain. After the eye with melanoma is removed, an implant is inserted into the same position, and the muscles controlling movement of the eye are attached to the implant, which allows the implant to move. After you've had some time to heal, an artificial eye (prosthesis) is made. The front surface of your new eye will be custom painted to match your existing eye.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-powered energy beams, such as protons or gamma rays, to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy is typically used for small to medium-sized eye melanomas.
The radiation is usually delivered to the tumor by placing a radioactive plaque on your eye, directly over the tumor in a procedure called brachytherapy. The plaque is held in place with temporary stitches. The plaque looks similar to a bottle cap and contains several radioactive seeds. The plaque remains in place for four to five days before it's removed.
The radiation can also come from a machine that directs radiation, such as proton beams, to your eye (external beam radiation or teletherapy). This type of radiation therapy is often administered over several days.
Laser treatment
Treatment that uses a laser to kill the melanoma cells may be an option in certain situations. One type of laser treatment, called thermotherapy, uses an infrared laser and is sometimes used in combination with radiation therapy.
Cold treatments
Extreme cold (cryotherapy) may be used to destroy melanoma cells in some small eye melanomas, but this treatment isn't commonly used.
- Yanoff M, et al. Ophthalmology. 3rd ed. Edinburgh, U.K.: Mosby Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/199400089-5/0/1869/0.html. Accessed June 5, 2012.
- Intraocular (eye) melanoma treatment (PDQ). National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/intraocularmelanoma/patient. Accessed June 5, 2012.
- Albert DM, et al. Albert & Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:4913.
- Leyvraz S, et al. Ocular melanoma: What's new? Current Opinion in Oncology. 2012;2:162.
- Indoor tanning. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/basic_info/indoor_tanning.htm. Accessed June 5, 2012.
- Surgical procedures. American Society of Ocularists. http://www.ocularist.org/resources_surgical_procedures.asp. Accessed June 5, 2012.
- Shopping guide for sunglasses. American Optometric Association. http://www.aoa.org/x6385.xml. Accessed June 5, 2012.
- Robertson DM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 8, 2012.
Find Mayo Clinic on