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Differentiation between chalazion and sebaceous carcinoma by noninvasive meibography
Yuji Nemoto1, Reiko Arita2, Atsushi Mizota1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Background:
Sebaceous carcinoma is notorious for masquerading clinically as other benign lesions such as chalazion. A tool to better differentiate between these two conditions would thus be desirable.
Purpose:
To examine the potential application of noninvasive meibography in the differential diagnosis of chalazion and sebaceous carcinoma of the eyelid as a retrospective cross-sectional study.
Methods:
Five individuals with chalazion and three patients with sebaceous carcinoma were observed. Noninvasive meibography was performed to visualize the reflectivity and shape of the lesion in each subject.
Results:
Noninvasive meibographic imaging revealed chalazion as a lesion of overall low reflectivity with small regions of higher reflectivity corresponding to lipid granules. On the other hand, the noninvasive meibography revealed sebaceous carcinoma as a poorly marginated lesion of high reflectivity in the eyelid.
Conclusion:
Noninvasive meibographic imaging may prove useful for the differential diagnosis of chalazion and sebaceous carcinoma. It may also be informative in definition of the resection area in carcinoma patients.
