Abstract
Purpose: :
Orbital pathologies represent a diverse group of conditions ranging from benign to malignant and often involving various tissues. In this study, we reviewed a series of orbital tumors from a single center in Canada to evaluate their epidemiological distribution.Methods and Materials: Final diagnoses of all specimens received during 16 years (1993-2009) at the Henry C Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory (Montreal Canada) were reviewed. All cases of orbital lesions were selected for the current study. Demographics including age at presentation and gender were collected from the pathological requisition forms. Lesions were classified into two groups according to location: Group 1 lesions involved the lacrimal gland, while Group 2 had no lacrimal gland involvement.
Results: :
During the study period, 103 orbital lesions were received. Thirty-six (35%) specimens were from males while 67 (65%) were from females. Mean age was 47.1 + 20.2 years. Overall, the sample was composed of 57 (55%) benign and 46 (45%) malignant lesions. Group 1 comprised 21 (20%) cases while Group 2 had 82 (80%) lesions. Specimens from Group 1 were further divided into epithelial (5 Pleomorphic adenomas, 2 adenoid cystic carcinomas and 2 mucoepidermoid carcinomas), lymphoid (7 benign lymphoid hyperplasia and 2 lymphomas) and others (3 tumors). In Group 2, lymphocytic tumors (n=44) were the most common and were further divided into lymphoid hyperplasia (n=19), lymphoma (n=12), and idiopathic chronic inflammation (n=12). Other common lesions were cavernous hemangioma (n=12) and metastatic tumor to the orbit (n=6).
Conclusions: :
In agreement with previous series, the most common epithelial tumor of the lacrimal gland was pleomorphic adenoma. Lymphocytic proliferations were the most prevalent lesions of the orbit, which also agrees with previous studies. The understanding of the prevalence of each condition may help clinicians to establish differential diagnoses, especially for those conditions that have overlapping clinical presentations.Key words: Orbital neoplasm, Lacrimal gland, Orbital disease, Epidemiology
Keywords: lacrimal gland • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: biostatistics/epidemiology methodology