Cancer that begins in the eye is known as primary eye cancer. It is usually uncommon. Cancer that spreads to the eye from other places in the body, known as secondary eye cancer, is more common than primary eye cancer. The statistics mentioned below are about primary eye cancer.
The number of people diagnosed with uveal melanoma has remained the same for the past few decades. However, people with conjunctival melanoma have increased in this time. White people are more likely to be diagnosed with eye melanoma than black people.
The 5-year survival rate reveals the percent of people that live at least five years after the cancer is found. The 5-year survival rate is 80% for people with eye cancer. If the cancer is diagnosed early, the 5-year survival rate is around 85%. Approximately 73% of people are diagnosed at this early stage. However, survival rates are based on the location and size of the tumour and the type of cancer diagnosed.
The 5-year survival rate is 82% for eye melanoma. The 5-year relative survival rate is around 85% when melanoma doesn’t spread outside the eye. The 5-year survival rate for those with disease spread to surrounding tissues or organs or the regional lymph nodes are 71%. If the melanoma has metastasized to distant parts of the body, the 5-year relative survival rate is 13%. Only about 2% to 3% of primary eye cancer is diagnosed at this late stage.
- Iris melanoma is rare and usually does not spread. The 5-year relative survival rate for people having iris melanoma is greater than 95%.
- Choroidal melanoma is the most common type of intraocular melanoma.
- For people with small choroidal melanoma, the 5-year relative survival rate is 84%.
- For people with medium choroidal melanoma, the 5-year relative survival rate is 68%.
- For people with large choroidal melanoma, the 5-year relative survival rate is 47%.
- Ciliary body melanoma is rare. The 5-year relative survival rates are difficult to determine for this type of melanoma. However, it generally has a poorer prognosis than choroidal melanoma because it is typically diagnosed at a more advanced stage. Prognosis is the chance of recovery.
- Eye lymphoma – As eye lymphoma is rare, accurate survival statistics are difficult to find. Most people are diagnosed with eye lymphoma after it has already spread to the brain, with a worse prognosis.
It is noteworthy that statistics on the survival rates for people with eye cancer are estimated.
