Late Effects of Retinoblastoma Therapy

In a report from the Retinoblastoma Survivor Study (N = 470), 87% of survivors of retinoblastoma (mean age, 43 years; median follow-up, 42 years) had at least one medical condition and 71% had a severe or life-threatening condition. Compared with patients without retinoblastoma, the adjusted relative risk of a chronic condition in survivors was 1.4 (P < .01). The relative risk of a grade 3 or 4 condition was 7.6 (P < .01). After excluding ocular conditions and subsequent neoplasms (SNs), this excess risk was found to persist only for patients with bilateral disease.[1]