Limbal carcinoma: Common malignancy at uncommon site

Limbus is the region of the eye between the cornea on one side and the sclera on the other. Limbus houses the stem cells. Neoplastic growths in limbus are the most common among growths of cornea and conjunctiva owing to the transition nature of the limbus. Although squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common carcinoma of limbus, its incidence is only 0.2–3.5/100,000. We present a 65-year-old patient with a limbal growth over a long period initially diagnosed as limbal stem cell deficiency. The patient sequentially developed epithelial dysplasia and then SCC. The complete excision of eyeball had to be done due to the recurrent nature of the lesion. The need for early detection of limbal mass and its prompt treatment cannot be overemphasized. Limbal growths have a good prognosis when treated early since they do not invade cornea and conjunctiva readily. Treatment is both surgical and medical. We present this case because of its rarity with a review of literature.