CONJUNCTIVAL TUMOURS: UNUSUAL BUT DANGEROUS

Conjunctival melanomas are rare. Nevertheless, Anastassiou and co-workers review their 28 year experience with 69 patients with conjunctival melanoma. They report a 32% tumour related mortality at 5 years and nearly a 50% recurrence rate of the tumour. In the accompanying editorial Shields points out that many of the tumours in this study were incompletely excised and the tumour extended to the margin of resection. Shields emphasises that incisional biopsy for these tumours is contraindicated and that a “no touch” technique with supplemental alcohol corneal epitheliectomy and conjunctival cryotherapy provides the most benefit to the patients.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva has, heretofore, also been considered a rarity. …