Hereditary bilateral retinoblastoma, pinealoma and normal chromosomes. A case report

We report a boy with bilateral, familial retinoblastoma recognized at the age of 3 months. At the age of 2 1/2 years the patient developed a tumour in the pineal region. Both tumours were successfully treated by radiation. The chromosomes were normal when examined by the prophase technique, in particular there was no deletion of band q14 of chromosome 13. We consider the simultaneous occurrence of retinoblastoma and pinealoma as more then a pure coincidence, probably a consequence of a generally increased susceptibility to cancer and of the histogenetic similarities of retina and pineal body.