Is your child facing the problem of retinoblastoma? Some information about this problem is discussed here.
You can able to know how to cure it by following certain methods of treatment.
Children are mostly affected by the retinoblastoma.
In UK, every year 40 cases diagnosed are having retinoblastoma. It occurs in children of 5 years.
Retinoblastoma is a kind of tumor that occurs in two forms: Inherited form, in which the tumors are present in one eye or both the eyes and non-inherited form, in which the tumor is present only in one eye.
Inherited retinoblastoma is caused by genetic disorder. The abnormal gene that is responsible for this disease is inherited to the child from their parent and develops as tumor in later life. This gene is called as Rb gene.
Retinoblastoma children are treated by support and genetic counseling. If your child is inherited, he should be checked for the tumor development such that they can be treated early.
Screening should be done right after birth and repeated for five years every month. The eye is examined by using the ophthalmoscope.
Children without family history have a white pupil which can be seen by taking the pictures using the flash photography. The other symptoms are red eye with pain, squint and a large tumor in the eye. In case of these symptoms, you are asked to take some tests to know the size, position and the surrounding area where it has spread.
Blood test: To find the Rb gene by genetic testing, this test is used.
Ultrasound scan: This is used to examine eye by using the sound waves as it is painless.
Lumbar puncture: To examine the fluid around the spinal cord and brain for presence of tumor in them.
The treatment depends on the position, size and number of tumors in the eye of your child. The main aim is to keep the sight of eye and to get rid of cancer.
The small tumors are treated by following methods:
Cryotherapy is done by freezing the tumors.
Thermotherapy in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy is used to destroy the cancer cells by heating them. The laser directed on the tumor will provide the heat.
Laser therapy is done by vaporizing the tumor. For every month, 2 to 3 sessions are needed.
The larger tumors are treated by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.
Chemotherapy is done to kill or shrink the tumor cells by using the anti-cancer drugs. If the tumor spreads to other parts, then this is used to treat the tumor.
Radiotherapy involves the high energy radiations from large machine to destroy the cancer cells. This can cause a little harm to the normal cells. When other treatments do not work, then this treatment is used.
Surgery is used to remove the eye when the vision in eye is lost and tumor is large. This process is called as enucleation. In its place, an artificial eye is fitted. The side effects can develop in later years due to the treatments given to the retinoblastoma.
Therefore, the large and small tumors of retinoblastoma can be treated by different treatment options.
