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Better radiotherapy treatments offer patients better tumor control

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A long-term review of external beam radiotherapy for the treatment of retinoblastoma has shown that throughout the past 30 years, as technology has improved radiotherapy techniques, patients have gained better tumor control and vision preservation.

Claire Phillips, MB, BS, FRANZCR, and colleagues with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, reviewed the charts of patients from 1965 until 1997 who were treated for retinoblastoma with external beam radiotherapy with at least 2 years’ follow-up.

Of 35 patients who were identified, 47 eyes had been treated. Of the tumors, 47% were Reese-Ellsworth stage 4 or 5 and a majority of others were at high risk for vision loss because of initial tumor location. Of the treated eyes, 34 remained intact and 74% of those have useful vision. One patient died from the retinoblastoma and three from secondary malignant neoplasms. Late toxicities aside from growth arrest and non-progressive cataract did not occur during the study period.

The analysis is published in the September issue of Australasian Radiology.