Melanoma, conjunctival

An uncommon eye cancer that arises in the conjunctiva, the clear membrane that covers the outer surface of the eye and the inner part of the eyelids.

Conjunctival melanoma accounts for 2% of all eye malignancies and tends, like melanoma of the skin, to occur in lightskinned people.

Features of the disease include fixation of the conjunctiva to the underlying tissue, and increased vascularity and hemorrhage in the conjunctiva.

The treatment is surgical removal of the tumor.

The incidence of conjunctival melanoma tripled from 1973 to 1999 among white men in the US