The International Society of Ocular Oncology (ISOO) is a non-profit corporation with the specific and primary purpose to advance and promote the practice of ocular oncology. In the 1970s and 1980s, there were few ocular oncologists worldwide. Most patients with an eye tumor were managed by general ophthalmologists or other specialists. At that time, education for ocular oncology was limited to a few paper or poster presentations, generally at retina meetings or major general ophthalmology meetings. The field of ocular oncology was in its infancy. In the mid-1980s and 1990s, the subspecialty of Ocular Oncology was gaining interest as a specialty specifically dedicated to the management of tumors of the eyelids, conjunctiva, intraocular structures, and orbit. Several fellowship training programs developed and ophthalmologists were keen to refer affected patients to centers of excellence. In 2004, the ISOO was formally established. The need for such a Society was evident as the field of Ocular Oncology had developed over the preceding years.
The ISOO mission is to promote the advancement of ocular oncology by coordination with general ophthalmology, general oncology, ophthalmic pathology, and allied sciences, by the encouragement of research, by the improvement of teaching and technical methods, and by improvement of patient care, through scientific meetings and other activities worldwide.