ocular melanoma
Meaning of ocular melanoma: Ocular melanoma is a rare cancer of the pigment producing cells within the eye, most often arising in the middle layer called the uvea.
Definition of ocular melanoma
Ocular melanoma, also called intraocular melanoma, is a rare cancer that develops from melanocytes, the pigment producing cells responsible for eye color, located within structures of the eye. It most often arises in the uvea, the middle layer of the eye that includes the iris, ciliary body, and choroid, making uveal melanoma the most frequently used term for the most common form of this cancer.
Ocular melanoma is distinct from melanoma of the skin, even though both arise from melanocytes, since the eye's internal environment and the way this cancer tends to spread differ considerably from cutaneous melanoma. Ocular melanoma most often spreads to the liver when it does spread beyond the eye, a pattern different from that typically seen with skin melanoma.
Because ocular melanoma frequently causes no early symptoms, it is often first identified during a routine eye examination before it causes noticeable vision changes.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
A routine eye examination identified a pigmented lesion later confirmed as ocular melanoma.
Good to know
Ocular melanoma most often spreads to the liver rather than to the lungs or lymph nodes, a pattern of spread that differs from what is typically seen with melanoma of the skin.
Word origin
Where “ocular melanoma” comes from
Ocular derives from Latin oculus, meaning eye; melanoma derives from Greek melas, melanos, meaning black, combined with the suffix -oma, meaning tumor.