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Science and Research
Ocular oncology research
Our researchers' long-term goal is to improve the treatment of eye cancers to better preserve vision, but also to help diagnose eye cancers earlier.
Overview
The most common primary malignant cancers of the eye are retinoblastoma in children and uveal melanoma in adults.
Our long-term goal is to improve the treatment of eye cancers, so that less damage is caused to the eye and vision is better preserved, but also to help diagnose patients with eye cancers earlier.
Our researchers work closely with medical specialists and scientists from other disciplines to achieve those objectives.
Why this research is important
Thanks to research we can now accurately diagnose eye cancers early, effectively treat them and predict which patients are likely to develop metastatic disease.
However, the implementation of these tools and techniques needs to be optimised so that patients with benign lesions do not undergo unnecessary testing, and to avoid the stress associated with over-diagnosis.
Similarly, new tools for diagnosing those at highest risk of developing metastatic disease can help us improve long-term outcomes for our patients.
Key research questions
- Can we improve the ocular treatment of patients with uveal melanoma?
- Can we help community clinicians (optometrists and ophthalmologists) recognise the warning signs of a uveal melanoma earlier?
- Can new imaging technology better diagnose and monitor choroidal tumours?