A REVIEW OF 340 ORBITAL TUMORS IN CHILDREN DURING A 60-YEAR PERIOD

We reviewed cases of histopathologically verified orbital tumors in ch ildren at our institution over 60 years to determine the distribution of various pathologic processes and trends over time. We studied the m edical records and pathology specimens from 340 patients aged 18 years or younger who underwent biopsy for orbital mass from 1932 through 19 91. The most common tumors were cysts (79 of 340, 23.2%), vascular les ions (60 of 340, 17.6%), optic nerve and meningeal neoplasms (56 of 34 0, 16.5%), inflammatory masses (29 of 340, 8.5%), osseous and fibrocys tic lesions (27 of 340, 7.9%), and rhabdomyosarcomas (24 of 340, 7.1%) . The overall frequency of malignancies was 18.2% (62 of 340): 11.5% ( 39) were primary tumors and 6.8% (23) were secondary and metastatic. T he frequency of orbital malignancies was 25.4% (36 of 142) in the firs t 30 years (1932 through 1961) and 13.1% (26 of 198) in the second 30 years (1962 through 1991). The percentage of primary orbital malignanc ies was almost identical during the first and second periods (11.9% [1 7 of 142] and 11.1% [22 of 198], respectively). However, secondary and metastatic orbital neoplasms occurred in 13.4% (19 of 142) of the pat ients during the first 30 years and in only 2.0% (four of 198) during the second 30 years. The frequency of primary orbital malignancies in biopsy material remained the same over 60 years. However, the overall incidence of orbital biopsy specimens containing a malignancy decrease d as a result of a reduction in the number of secondary and metastatic neoplasms that underwent biopsy.