Retinoblastoma: Saving Eyes, Sparing The Body -- Research Summary

BACKGROUND: Retinoblastoma, or cancer of the retina, is the most common type of eye cancer in children. The rare cancer affects approximately 300 children in the United States every year, according to the Eye Cancer Network. If detected early, more than 90 percent of children with retinoblastoma can be cured. According to the National Cancer Institute, retinoblastoma can occur at any age but usually affects children younger than age 5. The cancer is sometimes inherited from parents. The inherited from of retinoblastoma usually occurs in especially young children and can affect both eyes. The retina is the nerve tissue that lines the inside of the back of the eye. The purpose of the retina is to sense light and send images to the brain by way of the optic nerve.

SYMPTOMS: Parents should immediately notify a doctor if they notice any of the following symptoms in their child:

• The pupil of the eye appears white instead of red when light -- such as camera flash -- is shined into it.
• The eyes appear to be looking in different directions.
• An eye is painful or red.

TREATMENT OPTIONS: Thirty years ago, the most common treatment for retinoblastoma was enucleation, or removal of the eye. Since then, treatments have evolved to include the options of radiation and chemotherapy. Research has shown though the cancer has been cured by external beam radiation, the treatment can increase a child's risk of developing more cancer later in life. A newer protocol being used to cure retinoblastoma is chemotherapy in combination with laser therapy, freezing therapy (cryotherapy) and targeted radiation.

While chemotherapy -- increasingly used in the treatment of retinoblastoma -- can cause the typical side effects of hair loss, nausea and suppression of the immune system, some doctors are using a more targeted form of chemotherapy for the tumors. In a 30-minute procedure, a medical team threads a thin catheter that is about the size of a piece of angel hair pasta through the groin, around the heart, and into the blood vessels in the neck and brain. The catheter eventually reaches the artery that supplies blood to the eye. Doctors then release the chemotherapy into that artery so the medication reaches only the eye. So far, most patients have gone home the day following the procedure and have experienced none of the side effects of chemotherapy. The chemotherapy treatments are normally followed up by several outpatient laser treatments to kill remaining cancer cells.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Omar Montejo
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
omontejo@med.miami.edu