ATLANTA – It’s the health story worthy of a mystery writer: Over 50 people, including more than three dozen who attended Auburn University some two to three decades ago, have been diagnosed with ocular melanoma, a rare form of eye cancer.
As doctors and epidemiologists search for possible causes and connections, questions about the cancer and its possible impact in Georgia are swirling. To answer them, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke with doctors, health organizations and Auburn alumni.
Q: What is ocular melanoma?
A: An aggressive form of cancer that develops from the cells that produce melanin (which is responsible for skin color), it’s a malignant tumor in the eye that can grow and spread to other parts of the body.
“OM is much rarer than skin melanoma and behaves quite differently,” according to the Ocular Melanoma Foundation. “It’s a potentially lethal disease which many people die from, especially when it spreads to the liver, a complication in about half of people diagnosed with this disease.”