Treatment and Prognosis of Retinoblastoma: Clinicopathologic Analysis of 101 Cases

ABSTRACT

The clinicopathologic characteristics, treatments and prognosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular tumor in children, were studied retrospectively in 101 cases(128eyes) who visited our clinic from 1987 to 1996. All patients were followed for 2 years or longer. Twenty seven cases were bilateral and seventy four cases were unilateral,. Eihgty four eyes were enucleated. Twenty one eyes were successfully treated by conservative modality. The rest refused any type of treatment. Orbital recurrence or distant metastasis were observed in 5 cases after enucleation without systemic treatment, and one died in spite of irradiation and aggressive chemotherapy. It is widely recognized that the prognosis for survival of retinoblastoma patients, especially unilateral, is excellent, however the authors emphasize the importance of careful postoperative histopathologic review and long term periodic follow-up to improve long-term prognosis.