Diagnosing Eyelid Cancer

If you think that you may have eyelid cancer, our eye care experts can help. At Stanford Byers Eye Institute, we begin with a comprehensive eye exam to assess your overall eye health. Our eye care specialists devote particular attention to any unusual areas of your eyelids through a careful inspection.

If we discover anything suspicious, we will perform other tests to help confirm a diagnosis. The earlier we can diagnose the cancer, the earlier we can begin treatment—and provide the best possible outcomes for you.

Eyelid Cancer Tests

In addition to the eye exam, you may need one or more of the following tests:

• Biopsy: We may remove a tiny sample of the tumor or lesion to analyze for the presence of cancer cells. Sometimes, we remove the entire tumor through biopsy.
  
• CT, MRI and PET scans: Our imaging specialists use these technologies to produce images of eyelid tumors to assess their size, shape and extent.
  
• Photography: Before taking a biopsy, we may take photos of small eyelid tumors as a baseline, to monitor them for growth or other changes.
  
• High-resolution ultrasound: This noninvasive technology uses sound waves to produce images of the eyelid to monitor and analyze lesions that may not be recognized with the naked eye.

Our ophthalmologists team up with Stanford dermatologists and pathologists (physicians who interpret laboratory tests and microscopically evaluate tissues to diagnose disease) who specialize in eye care and skin cancer. Throughout the diagnostic process, our experts from these disciplines work together to determine an accurate diagnosis and see whether the cancer has spread.

Once we confirm a diagnosis, your highly-skilled cancer care team collaborates to determine what stage your eyelid cancer is. Read about our process for eyelid cancer staging.

Eyelid Cancer Treatment

Once we diagnose and stage your eyelid cancer, we work with our dermatology colleagues who specialize in Mohs surgery to remove the tumor. If an eyelid tumor is large and has grown into the sinuses, brain or other parts of the face, we work with cancer surgeons in those specialties to coordinate our patients’ care.

Learn more about our collaborative process and options for eyelid cancer treatment.