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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Surgical Correction for Pediatric Epiblepharon and Trichiasis
Published on: July 8, 2025
Outcomes after radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the eyelid
Janjira Petsuksiri1, Steven J Frank, Adam S Garden
1Division of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Background:
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the eyelid is a rare malignancy with metastatic potential. In the current study, the outcomes of patients with SCC of the eyelid were evaluated after definitive and postoperative radiation therapy.
Methods:
The medical records of all patients treated with radiotherapy for SCC of the eyelid at 1 institution between 1950 and 2005 were reviewed. Patient records were analyzed for clinical characteristics, pathologic features, radiation techniques, and outcomes. Survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method; factors affecting survival were assessed using the log-rank test.
Results:
During the study period, 39 patients with 42 eyelid SCCs were treated with radiotherapy. Thirty-two tumors were treated with primary radiotherapy and 10 were treated with postoperative radiotherapy after wide local excision. Surviving patients were followed for a median of 76 months. The 5-year disease-specific and overall survival rates for all patients were 86% and 71%, respectively. At 5 years, local, regional, and distant disease control rates for all tumors were 88%, 95%, and 97%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the 5-year local, regional, and distant control rates between tumors treated with definitive and those treated with postoperative radiotherapy. There were no grade 3 or 4 complications.
Conclusions:
Primary radiotherapy for SCC of the eyelid provides excellent locoregional control with reasonable complication rates and should be considered an alternative to surgery in selected patients.