Eyelid Tumours

What are eyelid skin tumours?

There are many types of benign and malignant eyelid skin tumours. The most common types of malignant eyelid skin tumours in Australians are basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), but other rarer types include sebaceous gland carcinoma and melanoma. These cancers can all grow and invade surrounding tissues, which can be very damaging to the eye and eye socket. Very occasionally, some of them can also spread around the body (metastasise) which can be fatal.

Basal cell carcinomas (BCC) hardly ever spread to other parts of the body. Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) may spread if they are left too long before treatment. Sebaceous gland carcinomas and melanomas have an even higher chance of spreading if they are not treated when they are small.

How are eyelid skin tumours removed?

Malignant eyelid skin tumours are normally treated by surgical excision by an oculoplastic surgeon, although other treatments such as radiotherapy may also be used in addition to or instead of surgery. The whole tumour and a surrounding ring of healthy tissue (a margin) should be excised. The excised sample is sent to the pathology laboratory to be examined to confirm exactly what type of tumour it is and if the entire tumour has been removed.