Eye cancer in a young male with a vaping history

Indian J Ophthalmol. 2020 Aug;68(8):1699-1701. doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_27_20.

Abstract

We report a new observation of conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in a young man following years of electronic cigarette use. A 22-year-old man with a 5-year electronic cigarette use (vaping) developed painless unilateral blurred vision in the right eye from mild superficial corneal opacification, unresponsive to topical antiviral therapy. Corneal scraping documented no infectious etiology. The abnormality persisted for 1 year and superficial keratectomy revealed high-grade CIN with enlarged pleomorphic and dyskeratotic cells. Interferon-alpha-2b was instituted. In this case, chronic exposure to electronic cigarette vapors (vaping) could have been associated with CIN in this young patient.

Keywords: Cancer; conjunctiva; electronic cigarettes; eye; squamous cell carcinoma; vaping.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / therapeutic use
  • Carcinoma in Situ*
  • Conjunctival Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems*
  • Eye Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Interferon alpha-2 / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Vaping* / adverse effects
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Interferon alpha-2