Type
There are many different types of tumors in the orbit. Some tumors are benign, or noncancerous (such as neurofibromas, hemangiomas, osteomas), but some are malignant (cancerous). Also, there are some benign tumors that can behave aggressively and cause destruction as they grow, so they are often treated as though they are cancer. Only after a pathologist analyzes a biopsy from the lesion will the doctor be able to determine if it is cancer and what type of cancer it is.
Note that most cancers of the orbit are actually from sinonasal cancers growing into the orbit. See the Sinonasal Cancer section to learn more about those tumors.
One convenient way to break down orbital cancers is to look at orbital tumors in children versus adults.
Pediatric Orbital Cancers
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
The most common cancer that starts in the orbit in children. - Neuroblastoma
The most common cancer to spread to the orbit in children. - Lymphoma
- Leukemia
Adult Orbital Tumors
- Lymphoma
This is the most common type of tumor that starts in the orbit in adults. Lymphoma is a cancer of the blood in which specific white blood cells (called lymphocytes) become cancerous. Even though lymphoma is a blood cancer, it usually presents as a solid tumor somewhere in the body.
In particular, ocular adnexal lymphomas are a specific type of lymphoma that can originate in many different types of orbital tissues. - Lacrimal gland cancers
These are very similar to salivary gland cancers, and they can be of the same type, including:- Adenoid cystic carcinoma
- Malignant mixed tumor
- Adenocarcinoma
- Mucoepidermoid carcinoma
- Lacrimal sac cancers
These can include squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, transitional cell carcinoma, salivary gland carcinoma and poorly differentiated carcinoma. - Cancers of the skin of the eyelid
These can include squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and even rare tumors such as sebaceous cell carcinoma and Merkel cell carcinoma. Actually, the most common place for a sebaceous gland carcinoma to arise is on the eyelid. Skin cancers of the eyelid are staged differently than skin cancers in other parts of the face. Read more about the causes and types of skin cancers. - Sarcomas
These can also arise in the orbit and include rhabdomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, hemangiopericytoma, liposarcoma and angiosarcoma, to name a few. - Other very rare tumors, such as malignant neurogenic tumors or peripheral nerve sheath tumors are possible; multiple myeloma, or even spread of cancer from another site (metastasis), is possible as well.
- Ocular (or eye) tumors themselves are usually diagnosed and treated by eye doctors. These can include retinoblastoma, conjunctival malignant melanoma, and squamous carcinoma of the conjunctiva or melanoma of the uvea or choroid.
