Gastric adenocarcinoma presenting as an eyelid and conjunctival mass

A 50-year-old white man complained of "inflammation" of his right eyelid since January 1989. In June 1990, he had undergone a gastrectomy for an adenocarcinoma of the stomach. In August 1990, his right eye showed a painless, firm infiltration of the upper and lower lid, ulceration and loss of eyelashes of the upper lid and a reddish, subepithelial thickening of the medial bulbar conjunctiva. Biopsies of the right upper lid and nasal bulbar conjunctiva disclosed a metastatic, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach (signet ring cell carcinoma) both in the lid and conjunctival biopsies. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was detected in the tumor cells. Electron microscopic examination revealed tumor cells with signs of secretory activity. Although metastases to the eyelids and conjunctiva are rare, they may precede the clinical manifestation of the primary tumor for months or even years. In patients with chronic, recalcitrant lesions of eyelids or conjunctiva, especially if accompanied by loss of eyelashes, a primary or secondary malignancy should be excluded by early biopsies and histopathological examination.