Ptosis as the presenting sign of orbital involvement from metastatic bronchogenic carcinoma

Metastatic tumors have been reported to be the most common malignant tumors affecting the eye. Tumors metastasize to the globe far more frequently than to the orbit. In adult males, metastatic bronchogenic carcinoma accounts for the majority of ocular and orbital tumors. Because bronchogenic carcinoma often metastasizes widely and early in its course, it is possible for signs and symptoms of ocular involvement to appear before the discovery of the primary tumor. The following case report describes the presentation and progression of an orbital metastatic tumor from a bronchogenic carcinoma which eventually invaded the frontal lobe.