Overview
Retinoblastoma is a type of eye cancer that starts in your retina, the light-sensing layer of cells at the back of your eye. It’s the most common childhood eye cancer.
Retinoblastoma can happen in one or both eyes. About 1 in 4 cases affect both eyes. Experts suspect it happens because of a malfunction in young, developing retinal cells. Diagnosis occurs before age 3 in 4 out of 5 cases. In rare cases, adults can also develop the condition after a pause in the tumor’s early development.
Types of retinoblastoma
There are three types of retinoblastoma:
- Unilateral: This means “one-sided,” so it affects one eye only.
- Bilateral: This means “two-sided,” so it affects both eyes.
- Trilateral: This means you have cancer in three places. Each eye reflects one of those places. The third place is in the pineal gland inside your brain. (Cancer affecting that gland is called pineoblastoma.)
About 60% of retinoblastoma cases are one-sided. Bilateral and trilateral cases make up the other 40%.
How common is retinoblastoma?
Retinoblastoma is rare. There are about 3.3 cases per 1 million people under age 20. In that age group, there are a little over 300 new cases annually in the U.S. and slightly under 9,000 new cases worldwide.
Symptoms
When to see a doctor
Complications
- High blood pressure.
- Diabetes.
- Heart failure.
- Some types of heart valve disease.
Prevention
- Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
- Don't smoke or use tobacco.
- Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
- Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Reduce and manage stress.
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