Case Report: Adult Retinoblastoma Progression in 19 Months

Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in childhood, comprising 4% of all pediatric cancers. Adult onset is extremely rare. Enucleation is usually performed in adult cases because of the atypical presentations and malignant features of the tumor, which lead to misdiagnosis.

We report a case of a 34-year-old woman who presented with an intraocular mass that was present for 19 months without any treatment before enucleation.

A 34-year-old woman with a history of a dark shadow in her right eye for 2 weeks presented with a whitish-pink mass in the nasal superior retina. Angiography revealed leakage of vessels on the surface of the tumor. Ultrasound showed a midrange echogenic mass in the right eye. The patient denied treatment and was not seen again until 19 months after her first visit. B-scan ultrasound showed enlargement of intraocular growth without calcification. The patient subsequently underwent enucleation, and retinoblastoma was confirmed with histopathology of the enucleated eye.

Retinoblastoma in adulthood is very rare. It has different clinical characteristics that need to be differentiated from other retinal tumors, such as primitive neuroectodermal tumor. They can develop very fast, but needle biopsy is not recommended. Eye care practitioners should be aware of the possibility of this malignancy in adults.