Outcome of interventional treatment modalities for retinoblastoma: Experience at a tertiary care centre in Pakistan

Retinoblastoma is the most common intra-ocular malignancy found in children in their infancy. Originating from the retinal cells, the disease has a significant association with mortality and morbidity. A case series study was conducted at the Lahore General Hospital eye department, from November 2016 to January 2018. Nineteen children having retinoblastoma in 19 eyes were included in the study. The retinoblastoma-affected eyes we reclassified according to the Inter national Classification of Retinoblastoma (ICRB). Treatments assigned were based on the severity of the disease, monetary allowance and intervention availability. The treatment modalities employed were chemo-reduction, Ophthalmic artery chemosurgery (OAC), Intravitreal Melphalan, Cryotherapy and laser photocoagulation. To measure the outcome, the follow up period was between 6 to 12 months. The primary outcome measures among the majority of the patients were regres sion or obliteration of the tumour. Failure of treatments were also recorded which included progression of the malignancy requiring enucleation. This study concludes that the newer modalities such as OAC and Intravitreal Melphalan have shown promising results for tumour regression, leading to vision salvation, even at higher grades of ICRB.