What is retinoblastoma and who gets it?
Retinoblastoma is a cancer of the retina that affects very young children. David Abramson, MD, explains the incidence of this rare cancer.
Transcript
Worldwide there are somewhere between 5 and 8,000 cases a year in the world. And the incidence appears to be the exact same
in every country, in every ethnic group, in every economic group. It's a mutation that occurs in cells. It's the first cancer that the genetics
were figured out in 1986 despite the fact that it's a very rare cancer. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Retinoblastoma is a cancer of the eye and specifically a cancer of the retina in very young children.
It is a rare cancer. The United States has estimated that there are about 275 cases a year.
So it's somewhere between the fourth and the seventh most common cancer of childhood in the United States.
On the other hand, these children are very young. It represents about 1/3 of all the children diagnosed
with cancer in the first month of age. And I have diagnosed and treated children with cancer
before their due date but after they were born. That is, they were premature. So it can develop very, very early in children.
Worldwide there are somewhere between 5 and 8,000 cases a year in the world. And the incidence appears to be the exact same
in every country, in every ethnic group, in every economic group. It's a mutation that occurs in cells. It's the first cancer that the genetics
were figured out in 1986 despite the fact that it's a very rare cancer.
cancer prevention
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