Clinical profile and outcomes of ocular surface squamous neoplasia at the Philippine General Hospital: a retrospective study

AIM: To evaluate the demographics, clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of patients with ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) at the Philippine General Hospital. METHODS: This was a single-center, 11-year retrospective, cross sectional case series on 18 cases of OSSN seen between January 2012 to June 2023. The patient's demographics, presenting symptoms, tumor characteristics, histopathologic diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, and duration of follow-up were reviewed. RESULTS: Out of 33 identified cases of OSSN, only 18 were eligible for inclusion in the study. Mean age was 60.78y (range 31 to 80), with male predominance (66.67%). The left eye was most commonly affected (61.11%) with most presenting with fleshy mass (83.33%). Most tumors were located nasally (66.67%) and were predominantly papilliform (44.44%) in morphology with associated hyperpigmentation (38.89%). Squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) was the most common histopathologic diagnosis (72.22%). The main primary treatment was surgical excision (94.44%) with or without adjunctive therapy, with only 1 patient undergoing first-line topical chemotherapy. Only 3 recurrences (16.67%) were noted with a median follow-up of 7.5mo. A statistically significant recurrence-free odds leaning towards the utilization of cryotherapy was noted. CONCLUSION: OSSN seen at the Philippine General Hospital is presented as a limbal papilliform mass, most commonly affecting elderly males. Surgical excision with adjuvant cryotherapy and/or chemotherapy is the preferred mode of treatment.