Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia

Participants will undergo surgical excision of OSSN at baseline and will be followed at 1 week, 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months for post-surgical follow up. This study is being conduced to assess the feasibility of conducting multi-center prospective studies on surgical excision of suspected OSSN lesions in SSA in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Participants include those with HIV infection and with suspected non-invasive OSSN lesions that the AMC-certified ophthalmologist determines can be resected with 3 mm clinical margins, sparing involvement of the superior and inferior fornices and 6 clock hours of the corneal scleral limbus.

The study involves enrollment of patients with sebaceous carcinoma, Merkel's carcinoma, Porocarcinoma, Melanoma, and squamous cell Ca of the ocular surface and adnexa both primary and relapsed after surgical and/or radiation-chemotherapy treatment at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS. The study will last 9 years: 1 year will be devoted to the first phase of the study. Patient enrollment will continue for an additional 3 years, and 5 years will be devoted overall to patient follow-up so that survival outcomes at 1-3 and 5 years can be assessed in a congruent number of patients. A preliminary analysis of the data at 1 year (pilot phase), an analysis at 4 years to confirm the preliminary study data on a larger sample, and a final analysis to evaluate OS and PFS at the 3 time-points indicated are planned.