Abstract
BACKGROUND: Orbito-ocular tumours are stereotypical, monotonous growths of the orbit, eyeball, and extra-orbital tissues. Among the challenges facing patients with orbital tumors are cosmetic deficits, vision loss, and life-threatening conditions. The regional burden varies for various reasons. AIM: To describe the patterns of these tumors in Nigeria. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted on Google Scholar and PubMed using the following keywords: pattern, orbit tumour, ocular tumour, Nigeria. A total of 66 articles were retrieved from databases, and 20 were included in the review, having met the inclusion criteria. RESULT: A total of two thousand six hundred and forty-three (2643) patients with orbito-ocular tumors was reported to have been published in Nigerian articles over the past five decades, the age range of the reported cases was 1 month-93 years with a male preponderance. Malignant tumors ranked highest at nearly 60%, with retinoblastoma (RB) and conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) having the highest frequency. RB and SCC were the most common tumours in children and adults respectively. Squamous cell papilloma had the highest distribution among the benign category. The eyeball and conjunctiva were the most common anatomical location of orbito-ocular tumors. Proptosis was the most common symptom. Treatment options ranged from enucleation, exenteration and excision biopsy. CONCLUSION: There were more malignant than benign tumours from this review. The most common malignant tumours were retinoblastoma (in children) and conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma (in adults) while squamous papilloma was the most common benign tumour. Chemotherapy with or without surgeries was the most common intervention with varied treatment outcomes due to the nature and stage of tumour, adherence to treatment, and follow-up plan.