Introduction
In the United States, approximately 1 person in 2500 seeks ophthalmic care for a tumor of the eyelid or ocular surface each year, or about 100,000 per year. Benign neoplasms of the eyelid and ocular surface are at least 3 times more common than malignant lesions. Most of these tumors arise from the eyelid skin; they are discussed in BCSC Section 4, Ophthalmic Pathology and Intraocular Tumors, and Section 7, Oculofacial Plastic and Orbital Surgery.
Tumors of the conjunctiva and cornea are considered together because the lesions can affect both tissues concurrently. These lesions are classified by cell type: epithelium, melanocytes and nevus cells, vascular endothelium, mesenchymal cells, and lymphocytes. Many are analogous to lesions affecting the eyelid.
Shields CL, Alset AE, Boal NS, et al. Conjunctival tumors in 5002 cases. Comparative analysis of benign versus malignant counterparts. The 2016 James D. Allen Lecture. Am J Ophthalmol. 2017;173:106–133. Epub 2016 Oct 8.
Shields JA, Shields CL. Eyelid, Conjunctival, and Orbital Tumors: An Atlas and Textbook. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2016.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 10 - Glaucoma. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.