48 cases of mysterious eye cancer make the doctor confused

Very rare cases of eye cancer have been reported in a short time in two states in the United States, making doctors believe there is a worrying cause.

18 people in Huntrersville - North Carolina and a group of 30 others in Auburn - Alabama are diagnosed with melanoma , a rare form of cancer that develops in cells that produce melanin in the eye.

According to the American Institute of Ophthalmology (AAO), this type of eye cancer usually affects only 6/1 million people every year. So dozens of shifts and discoveries in one locality are seemingly unbelievable.

Experts who are confused because of this rare form of eye cancer suddenly happened in two non-populous localities - (photo: SHUTTERSTOCK).

According to the literature, until now, it has not been clear the cause of eye melanoma, although some risk factors have been recorded: severe sun exposure for a long time, bright eyes, age , moles in the eyes, some genetic factors . 75% of patients diagnosed with this type of eye cancer can survive 5 years after the diagnosis.

Dr. Marlana Orloff, from Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia - USA) told CBS News that most patients do not know each other or know anyone else who has it. The closest relationship is probably three of the patients in Alabama who used to study at Auburn University.

Experts have not yet found a mysterious cause that has caused such a large number of patients to be diagnosed with a rare disease, but they are concerned that a certain factor in the environment may affect the disease. .

However, an equally mysterious connection was discovered when 1 in 3 other Auburn University patients created a facebook page to raise awareness about the disease. He was quite surprised when he discovered 36 other people who had attended this school had been diagnosed with eye melanoma. They are currently trying to link together to help the authorities find the cause.