Emerging strategies for the treatment of retinoblastoma

Over the past 10 years, the treatment of retinoblastoma has changed dramatically. The main impetus for these changes, which are more intensive than traditional modalities and require a multidisciplinary approach, has been the avoidance of the serious, often fatal, complications of external beam radiation. The use of potent, well known chemotherapy agents in a novel setting (ie, intraocular tumor) has been successful in treating all but the most advanced disease.

This review will examine recent published work with chemotherapy and local (focal laser) treatment for intraocular (curable) retinoblastoma. Specifically, the concepts behind and the practice of chemoreduction and thermochemotherapy and their efficacies will be evaluated.

The work discussed herein constitutes an extremely nascent and dynamic field of work in ocular oncology. Much uncertainty remains, especially as most of these patients will live for many decades after their presentation and treatment. The review will show that a significant number of treatment failures still occur and that continued work is needed before we can feel confident treating young patients with all forms of this rare tumor.