Primary malignant tumours of eye and adnexa in Eastern Nepal.

Background: The purpose of the present paper was to report the spectrum of primary malignant tumours of eye and adnexa at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Nepal, from 1995 to 2000.

Methods: A retrospective study of medical records with histopathological confirmation of malignant tumours of the eye and adnexa was done for the years 1995-2000. A total of 116 consecutive medical records from the Department of Pathology at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences were retrieved. All those patients with primary ophthalmic malignancies were included and non-malignant cases were excluded.

Results: There were 80 patients of which 39 (48.8%) were male and 41 (51.2%) were female. Four patients had bilateral involvement. The most common malignancy was retinoblastoma (45.2%), followed by basal cell carcinoma (22.6%).

Conclusion: Retinoblastoma is the most common eye cancer. The incidence of melanomas is correspondingly lower than that reported in the West. The present pilot study, the first of its kind, will lay the foundation for the monitoring of the future pattern of ophthalmic malignancies in Nepal and provide a basis for comparison elsewhere.