Comparison of the Clinical Characteristics and Outcome of Benign and Malignant Eyelid Tumors: An Analysis of 4521 Eyelid Tumors in a Tertiary Medical Center

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical features and outcome of benign and malignant eyelid tumors from 1995 to 2015 in a tertiary medical center. Among 4,521 histologically confirmed eyelid tumors, 4,294 (95.0%) were benign tumors and 227 (5.0%) were malignant tumors. The mean age at diagnosis was significantly higher in patients with malignant lid tumors than those with benign lid tumors (72.5 and 55.4 years, resp., p < 0.001). The most common benign eyelid tumors were intradermal nevus (21.1%), followed by seborrheic keratosis (12.6%) and xanthelasma (11.2%). The most common malignant eyelid tumors were basal cell carcinomas (57.8%), followed by sebaceous gland carcinomas (21.1%) and squamous cell carcinomas (10.1%). There was a relative male predominance (63.4% and 49.2%, resp., p < 0.001) and higher recurrence rate (11.9% and 4.4%, resp., p < 0.001) in malignant lid tumors as compared with those of benign lid tumors. Twenty-two patients (9.7%) received orbital exenteration/enucleation. Eight patients (3.5%) with malignant lid tumors died of disease. Patients with eyelid melanoma were associated with a high mortality rate (25.0%). It is important to differentiate between benign and malignant eyelid tumors, because they may cause cosmetic disfigurement and severe morbidity, especially in those with malignant eyelid tumors.