“Early Diagnosis is Important In Eye Cancer”

IU Medicine Faculty Eye Diseases Department Lecturer Assoc. Prof. Dr. Samuray Tuncer made statements about the developments of eye tumors and cancers, symptoms and their treatments.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuncer, who says all the mass related to eye and supraorbital tissue is called “eye tumors”, implied that swellings in our bodies, beauty spots and any acnes is accepted as tumor by recording tumor means “mass” in Latin. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuncer, who expresses that tumors can appear in different parts of eye, implied that different kinds of tumors can be seen in the supraorbital, eyelids, iris, retina, connective tissue under retina, vascular layer called choroid, area between eye bones and eyes called orbital. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuncer, by emphasizing the fear of patients if tumor is mentioned, said that every tumor don’t mean cancer. The ninety percent of the mass called tumor is benign. This should be clearly expressed to the society.

“Tumor Can Show Different Symptoms According to the Areas They Are Found”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuncer, who implies that malignant tumors means cancer, said that these tumors compose ten percent of all tumors by indicating they are called carcinoma or sarcoma. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuncer, mentioning tumors can show different symptoms according to the areas they are found, said: “These symptoms can occur as redness in the eyes, swelling on the eyelids, inflammation around the eyes and itch. Tumors can sometimes destroy the pupil’s round structure and sometimes brown sometimes light mass can be seen in tumors found in iris layer of eyes. Tumors found in the back of eyes can sometimes cause no complaints and they can occur during routine inspections.

“Eye Cancer Can Progress Insidiously”

Mentioning the importance of people’s education in optometry and the importance of detailed examination in diagnosis, Assoc. Prof. Tuncer said “When you go to an ophthalmologist, they should carefully examine all structures of your eyes from the eyelid to the behind the eyes. The eyelids and inside of the eyelids need to be examined, intraocular pressure should be measured and all patients must be informed very well.” He also stated that sometimes eye tumors can grow slowly without causing any complaints, and therefore it is very crucial to periodically carry out a fundus oculus examination in children for early diagnosis of the disease.

“Survival Rate in Tumor Treatment is Very High”

Stating that the incidence of eye tumor and cancer is the same with World average, Assoc. Prof. Tuncer indicated that choroidal melanoma in adults and a retina tumor, retinablastoma in children are most common tumors. Assoc. Prof. Tuncer said that the success rate in tumor treatment is very high and therapeutic injections, radioactive plaque therapy and intra-arterial chemotherapy is commonly used in Turkey and indicated the importance of early diagnosis in treatment. He also stated that eye tumors are genetically passed on and said “Consanguineous marriages must be reduced. We should determine the incidence of these patients through social screening and prevent them to pass it onto the next generations by diagnosing the illnesses before the symptoms occur and providing the patients with genetic consultation.”. Also mentioning the lesions imitating cancer, Assoc. Prof. Tuncer gave the examples of retinal hemorrhage and age-related macular degeneration as they have the potential to imitate cancer. He said that it is very important to be cautious about them and mentioned the importance of accurate diagnosis.

Translated by: İrem YAŞAR - Eda AYDEMİR

IU Department of Press and Public Relations