What are the key statistics for eye cancer?

The American Cancer Society's estimates for eye cancer in the United States for 2013 are:

• 2,800 new cases of cancers (primarily melanoma) of the eye and orbit: 1,490 in men and 1,310 in women.
• 320 deaths from cancer of the eye: 120 in men and 200 in women.

Primary eye cancers can occur at any age, but most occur in people over age 50. The incidence of eye melanomas has been fairly stable over the past few decades. Cancers that spread to the eye from another part of the body (secondary eye cancers) are actually more common than primary eye cancers.

Most cancers of the eye and orbit in adults are melanomas, with lymphomas being the next most common. Both of these cancers start more often in other parts of the body. More than 9 out of 10 melanomas start in the skin, while most lymphomas begin in lymph nodes.