Ocular Tumors in Animals and Humans

Abstract

Edited by Robert L. Peiffer, Jr, and Kenneth B. Simons, 461 pp, with illus, Ames, Iowa, Iowa State Press, 2002.Ocular Tumors in Animals and Humans is an unusual book that attempts to provide a thorough review of ocular oncology in animals and humans in one text. In his preface to the text, Robert L. Peiffer, Jr, DVM, PhD, a veterinary ophthalmologist, indicates that his purpose in creating this text was to provide an enhanced understanding of ocular tumors through a comparative species approach. To accomplish this, he elicited the editorial assistance of Kenneth B. Simons, MD, an ophthalmologist and ophthalmic pathologist, and the expertise of 34 other veterinarians and physicians to bring together information on the broad range of ophthalmic tumors seen in animals and humans.In general, the text is well written, with extensive references. The more than 380 clinical illustrations and photomicrographs are of excellent quality, although all are in black and white. The text is organized into 14 chapters largely divided on an anatomic basis. For the most part, each chapter begins with a discussion of ocular tumors in animals for the tissue in question, followed by a similar discussion of ocular tumors in humans for the same tissue. The exceptions to this are chapters on the phakomatoses (disorders that are unique to humans), neoplasms of the lacrimal drainage system in humans, and feline ocular sarcomas, as well as a chapter on animal models of ophthalmic tumors. The chapter on retinoblastoma is also largely a discussion of human pathology, as spontaneous cases of retinoblastoma appear to be almost exclusively limited to humans. The remaining chapters include discussions of tumors of the orbit, eyelid, conjunctiva, cornea and sclera, uvea, and optic nerve. Separate chapters on ocular lymphoid proliferations and metastatic tumors are also provided.On average, the majority of information provided in the text is on human oncology, as the incidence of animal tumors is comparatively low, likely due to the inherent diagnostic difficulties in animals as compared with humans. The discussion of animal tumors is primarily limited to that of cats, dogs, horses, and cows. As an ophthalmologist and ophthalmic pathologist, I found the latter to be of interest from the perspective of comparative pathophysiology. Of particular curiosity was the rarity of eyelid basal cell carcinomas in animals as compared with humans (in whom it represents the most common malignant tumor of the eyelid), and the discussion of adenocarcinoma of the gland of the third eyelid and of feline ocular sarcomas. I found the text to be informative and valuable, although as compared with other already available texts on ocular tumors in humans, there are arguably more extensive and complete discourses on the topic available. This text will be of interest primarily to veterinary ophthalmologists, ophthalmic pathologists, and ocular oncologists. Researchers in the area of ocular oncology will find the last chapter on animal models of particular interest.