Symptoms of eye cancer can vary from person to person based on the type of cancer involved. In adults, the most common symptoms include:
blurred vision in one eye
floaters (small, "floating" spots in the field of vision)
change in iris color
one or several dark spots on the iris itself
red and/or painful eye
bulging eye
loss of peripheral vision
In the early stages of eye cancer, there may be few, if any, symptoms. In fact, it is not unusual for an optometrist to be the first person to notice abnormalities during a routine eye exam.
Symptoms of Ocular
Melanoma in Adults
Ocular melanoma most commonly develops in the cells of the uvea, the vascular layer of your eye sandwiched between the retina (the layer of tissue that lines the back inner wall of the eyeball) and the sclera (the white of the eye).
The melanoma often develops in either the front layer of the uvea (called the iris and ciliary body) or the back (the choroid layer). On rare occasions, it can occur on the outermost layer on the front of the eye (the conjunctiva), in the socket that surrounds the eye, or the eyelid itself.
Symptoms of Retinoblastoma in Children
The most common form of pediatric eye cancer is retinoblastoma, a disease which affects around 300 children in the U.S. every year. While it is predominately diagnosed in children two years of age and under, it can strike in other age groups, as well.
Symptoms of retinoblastoma include:
a white pupil (leukocoria)
misaligned or "cross eyes" (strabismus)
a different colored pupil in each eye
eye pain caused by the development of glaucoma (less common)
It is not uncommon for parents to first notice the condition when they see a photograph of their child. They might notice that one of the child’s eye reacts normally to the flash (creating the typical "red eye") while the other shows a bright white pupil. In some cases, the eye might have a "cat's eye" appearance or other perceptible abnormalities.