Risks and causes of eye cancer
We don’t know what causes most eye cancers. But there are some risks factors that can increase your risk of developing it. These include being older or having certain medical conditions.
What is a risk factor?
Anything that can increase your risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor.
Different cancers have different risk factors. Having one or more of these risk factors doesn't mean you will definitely get that cancer.
Melanoma of the eye
The possible risk factors for eye melanoma include:
Age
This type is more common in older people. The average age of diagnosis is around 60 years.
Race
Melanoma of the eye is more common in White people than Black, Asian or Hispanic people.
Eye colour and skin tone
People with blue or grey eyes are more likely to develop eye melanoma than people with brown eyes. The risk is also higher in people with fair skin, or with freckles.
People who have abnormal brown spots (pigmentation) on their uvea (called oculodermal melanocytosis) or iris (called iris naevus) are at an increased risk of developing eye melanoma.
Moles
Some families tend to have large numbers of moles on their skin or moles that are unusual (doctors call them atypical). The atypical moles tend to be an irregular shape or colour. They also have a tendency to become cancerous. People with moles like this have a higher than average risk of skin melanoma and eye melanoma.
Inherited cancer syndromes
Doctors have identified a rare inherited condition called BAP1 cancer syndrome. Families with this have a change (mutation) in the BAP1 gene. People with this gene change have an increased risk of uveal melanoma, skin melanoma and some other cancers. The uvea is the middle layer of the eye. Most adult eye cancers are a type called uveal melanoma.
Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation for some workers.
Welding increases the risk of melanoma of the eye in people working as welders. This may be due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
Use of sunbeds
Exposure to artificial UV radiation, such as sunbeds, increases the risk of eye melanoma.
Squamous cell eye cancer
The risk factors for squamous cell eye cancer include:
Age and gender
This is mostly a cancer of the older population, with an average age of 60 years. Men are affected more than women.
Sunlight and ultraviolet radiation
Sun and UV exposure has been linked to a higher risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the eye. This type of cancer is more common in areas of the world where the sun’s light is stronger than in the UK.
Infection with HIV
People who have HIV are at a higher risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva of the eye. This is almost certainly because of the effect of the virus on their immune system.
Drugs that suppress the immune system
People who have an organ transplant need to take drugs to stop their immune systems rejecting the new organ. These drugs damp down the immune system generally. Because of this, these people are at an increased risk of some types of cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma of the eye.
Human papillomavirus infection
Human papillomavirus (HPV) may cause squamous cell carcinoma of the eye in combination with other factors. The virus causes squamous cell cancers elsewhere in the body. Infection with HPV is very common and it usually doesn't cause any problems at all. There are probably other factors working with the HPV that explain why some people get it and others don’t.
Lymphoma of the eye
The average age at diagnosis for lymphoma of the eye is between 50 and 60 years.
Anyone whose immune system is not working as well as it should may be more likely to develop lymphoma of the eye. This includes people who:
- are taking drugs to stop organ rejection after a transplant
- have HIV or AIDS
- have auto immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis
- are born with rare medical syndromes which affect their immunity
People without these risk factors can still develop an eye lymphoma. There appears to be an increasing number of cases in people who don't have problems with their immune systems. The reason for this is not yet clear. Improved methods of diagnosing this rare cancer is one possible explanation.
Kaposi's sarcoma of the eye
Kaposi’s sarcoma is mostly seen on the skin but can affect other parts of the body such as the eyes.
This is a very rare eye cancer caused by a virus. It is usually seen in people with a weak immune system as a result of advanced HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Rarely It can develop in the elderly and people with problems with their immune system (but do not have HIV).
Retinoblastoma
Retinoblastoma is a rare type of eye cancer. In the UK, between 40 to 50 children are diagnosed each year. It most commonly affects children under the age of 5.
Inherited gene changes
Some children are born with a change (mutation) in the retinoblastoma 
. They may inherited this from one of their parents. Or this gene change happened during the very early stages of their development in the womb. This gene is known as the RB1 gene.
About 40 out of 100 children diagnosed (about 40%) have this heritable () type. It often affects both eyes. Heritable retinoblastoma also tends to have more than one cancer in one or both eyes.
The rest, 60 out of every 100 retinoblastomas (60%), are the non heritable (non genetic) type. These usually affect only one eye. In these, the mutation in the RB1 gene occurs later in development. It only affects a single cell in the retina to cause a retinoblastoma.
More information on risk factors for eye cancer
We have more detailed information for health professionals about eye cancer risks and causes.
Other possible causes
There are often stories about potential causes in the media. It isn’t always clear which ideas are supported by evidence. There might be things you have heard of that we haven’t included here. This is because either there is no evidence about them or it is less clear.
Reducing your risk
There are ways you can reduce your risk of cancer.
