Orbital tumors in the older adult population.

Abstract

To determine the types and frequency of orbital tumors in the older adult population. Retrospective consecutive case series. Two hundred consecutive patients aged 60 years or older with an orbital tumor managed at a tertiary referral center. The relative incidence and management of orbital tumors in patients aged 60 years or older. Of approximately 950 consecutive patients with orbital space-occupying lesions managed over a 25-year period on the Oncology Service, 200 patients (21%) were 60 years or older at the time of diagnosis. The orbital tumor was unilateral in 183 patients (92%) and bilateral in 17 patients (8%). The most common clinical features at presentation included mass in 51 patients (26%), proptosis in 36 (18%), and pain in 30 (15%). The mean duration of symptoms was 11 months before referral. The orbital tumor was malignant in 125 patients (63%) and benign in 75 (27%). The most common diagnoses were malignant lymphoma in 47 patients (24%), idiopathic orbital inflammation in 19 (10%), and cavernous hemangioma in 15 (8%). The diagnosis was made with clinical findings and imaging studies in 58 patients (29%) and additional histopathologic examination in 142 patients (71%). Of 217 tumors, the main tumor location was in the superior half of the orbit in 106 lesions (49%), in the anterior orbit in 100 (46%), and in the extraconal space in 135 (62%). Imaging studies showed a mass with well-defined margins in 90 tumors (41%) and ill-defined margins in 127 (59%). The tumors were solid in 203 cases (94%), cystic in 6 (3%), and mixed in 8 (3%). Over a mean of 31 months follow-up, 50 (25%) patients had orbital tumor-related systemic involvement (metastasis or lymphoma), and 150 (75%) remained free of systemic involvement. Orbital tumors in the senior adult population are malignant in 63% of cases. Malignant lymphoma is the most common tumor in this age group, accounting for 24% of cases. Overall, 25% of patients have systemic problems related to the orbital process develop, so systemic evaluation is warranted.