Conjunctival Lesions; a Histopathologic Review in Fars Province, Iran

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of various types of conjunctival lesions, at a tertiary ophthalmic center in Fars Province, South of Iran. METHODS: Histopathologic slides and medical records of conjunctival lesions submitted to the pathology department of Khalili Hospital, Shiraz, Iran were reviewed from April, 2009 to July, 2013. The histopathologic diagnoses were categorized into benign, pre-malignant, and malignant lesions. The prevalence of various types of conjunctival lesions was calculated. RESULTS: Histologic sections of 631 conjunctival lesions were reviewed. Benign lesions were most prevalent (81.8%), followed by premalignant (10.8%) and malignant (7.4%) lesions. Pterygia were the most common benign lesions (69.2%), intraepithelial dysplasia constituted most cases of premalignant lesions (94.1%), and squamous cell carcinoma was the most frequent malignant lesion (93.6%). Benign lesions were the most common type of lesions in all age groups, however the prevalence of malignant lesions increased significantly with age (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Benign lesions were the most common conjunctival lesions with pterygia on top of the list, while intraepithelial neoplasia and squamous cell carcinoma were the most common premalignant and malignant lesions, respectively. Conjunctival malignant lesions were more prevalent with older age.