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DOI: 10.1055/a-2772-9119
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Conjunctival Squamous Cell Carcinoma Following Intravitreal Injection Through an Unrecognized CIN: A Case Report

Konjunktivales Plattenepithelkarzinom nach intravitrealer Injektion durch eine nicht erkannte CIN: ein Fallbericht

Authors

  • Augustina Grigaite

    1   Department of Ophthalmology, Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
    2   Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

  • Alexandre Moulin

    2   Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
    3   Department of Pathology, Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland

  • Ann Schalenbourg

    1   Department of Ophthalmology, Jules-Gonin Eye Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
    2   Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
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Background/Introduction

Conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most frequent malignant non-pigmented conjunctival tumour, with an estimated incidence of 0.13 to 1.9 per 100,000 [1]. It commonly arises from a precancerous lesion called conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The distinction between SCC and CIN is made histopathologically, the former breaching and invading beyond the basal membrane. Both entities are often jointly referred to as ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN).

Both CIN and SCC usually appear on the interpalpebral conjunctiva and present as a gelatinous or leukoplakic mass, which may have feeder vessels. Its development is associated with UV exposure, smoking, human papilloma virus infection, elder age and a suppressed immune system [2]. The smaller tumours can easily be mistaken for benign lesions, such as a pinguecula or pterygium [1]. SCC does not metastasize unless it is left untreated and invades the orbit and local lymph nodes [3].

Treatment of OSSN includes excisional biopsy and/or topical chemotherapy, depending on the lesionʼs extent. Adjuvant cryotherapy can be applied to the margins, reducing the risk of a local recurrence [4]. For invasive SCC on the bulbar conjunctiva, plaque therapy destroys malignant cells having penetrated the sclera [5], thus avoiding intra-ocular dissemination, which manifests itself as an uncontrollable intra-ocular inflammation and nearly always requires enucleation [1].

To our knowledge, we describe the first case of a conjunctival SCC that appeared following an inadvertent intravitreal injection (IVT) through a pre-existing CIN.



Publication History

Received: 01 November 2025

Accepted: 15 December 2025

Article published online:
11 February 2026

© 2026. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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