Eyelid tumors: Accuracy of clinical diagnosis

PURPOSE: To determine the accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of the cli nical diagnosis of malignant tumor of the eyelid. METHOD: Analysis of consecutively submitted biopsy specimens of the eyelid for I year to a regional ophthalmic pathology laboratory. RESULTS: Agreement was noted between clinical and histopathologic diagnoses on 72 (84%) of 86 eyelid biopsy specimens received over 12 months. Ten (11 .6%) clinical diagnoses of suspected malignant eyelid tumor showed benign s kin conditions, and four (4.6%) clinical diagnoses of presumed benign condi tions proved to be malignant. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical assessment of eyelid malignancy by ophthalmologis ts is reasonably good when evaluated in terms of sensitivity (87.5%) and sp ecificity (81.5%) of diagnosis. Lesions giving rise to the false-negative d iagnosis of malignancy tend to be nodules with unremarkable surface feature s. (C) 1999 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.