Pathological Classification and Incidence of Conjunctival Tumors in Korean Patients: Single-center Study

Jung Woo Lee; So Young Kim; Moon Sun Jung

doi:10.3341/jkos.2019.60.2.119

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Lee, Kim, and Jung: Pathological Classification and Incidence of Conjunctival Tumors in Korean Patients: Single-center Study

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 2019; 60(2): 119-125.

Published online: 15 February 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2019.60.2.119

Pathological Classification and Incidence of Conjunctival Tumors in Korean Patients: Single-center Study

Jung Woo Lee, MD, So Young Kim, MD, Moon Sun Jung, MD, PhD

Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.

Address reprint requests to Moon Sun Jung, MD, PhD. Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, #31 Suncheonhyang 6-gil, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan 31151, Korea. Tel: 82-41-570-2260, Fax: 82-41-592-3810, inmydream@schmc.ac.kr

Received 18 October 2018 Revised 19 October 2018 Accepted 18 January 2019

The Korean Ophthalmological Society

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

To report the pathological classification and incidence of conjunctival tumors in Korean patients.

Methods

A retrospective chart review was conducted for 234 patients who underwent excisional biopsy of conjunctival neoplasia between January 2007 and December 2016 at Soonchunhyang University Hospital. The clinical features, histological classification, and frequency of pigmented conjunctival masses were investigated.

Results

The mean age of the 234 patients who underwent excisional biopsy was 37.9 ± 21.6 years. The most common location of conjunctival lesions was the bulbar conjunctiva in 145 patients (62%), with pigmentary lesions in 68 patients (29.2%). Most tumors were benign (n = 201, 85.9%), while 34 malignant tumors were found as follows: 71 patients (30.3%) had epithelial tumors, 67 (28.6%) had melanocytic tumors, 33 (14.1%) had lymphoid tumors, and 26 (11.1%) had lipomatous tumors.

Conclusions

Most of the conjunctival tumors in Korean patients were benign. Epithelial tumors were the most common, and melanocytic tumors were less common then in Western studies. However, clinically malignant cases were not uncommon, occurring at a rate of 14.1%. Therefore, conjunctival tumors in elderly patients, lesions that are large, and the presence of a conjunctival sac are more likely to be malignant. Therefore, accurate histological diagnosis and treatment are needed.

Keywords: Conjunctival neoplasms, Lymphoma, Pathology, Pigmented nevus, Squamous carcinoma

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Representative pictures of conjunctival masses. (A) Nevus, (B) Conjunctival papilloma, (C) Lipoma, (D) Fibroma, (E) Pyogenic granuloma, (F) Capillary hemangioma, (G) Primary acquired melanosis, (H) Herniated orbital fat, (I) MALT lymphoma, (J) Squamous cell carcinoma, (K) Sebaceous cell carcinoma, (L) Malignant melanoma.

Table 1

Classification of conjunctival tumors in 234 patients

Table 2

Incidence & demographics of benign vs. malignant conjunctival tumors

Values are presented as number (%) unless otherwise indicated.

M:F = male:female.

^*Independent t-test, p < 0.016; ^†Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.04.

Table 3

Size and anatomic location of 234 consecutive conjunctival tumors

Values are presented as number (%) unless otherwise indicated.

^*Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.05; ^†Pearson's Chi-square test, p < 0.001.

Notes

^{Conflicts of Interest} The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

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