On World Cancer Day, the L V Prasad Eye Institute aims to raise awareness about Retinoblastoma, the most common type of eye cancer affecting children under three. This condition is life-threatening and poses a significant risk to a child's vision, making it crucial to detect and treat it as early as possible.
Low Awareness, High Stakes
Against the backdrop of low societal awareness about eye cancer and its symptoms, India reports an alarming annual count of 1500 new cases of retinoblastoma in children. Unfortunately, the majority of these cases are identified at an advanced stage, leading to a tragic 50% loss of young lives due to delayed detection and inadequate treatment.
Dr Anasua Ganguly Kapoor, Eye Cancer Specialist and Campus Head, LVPEI - Kode Venkatadri Chowdary Campus, Vijayawada, emphasizes, 'Early symptoms include a white reflex in a child’s eye and squinting. Parents and physicians must be vigilant, as other subtle signs like variations in eye size, redness, or swollen eyelids may also manifest. A timely consultation with an eye cancer specialist is crucial when these symptoms arise.'
Survival Odds: Early Detection is Key
When retinoblastoma is confined to the eye, the chances of a child's survival are above 90%. However, these odds drop to 70% when the tumour extends beyond the eye. The situation becomes dire if the tumour spreads into the brain. Early detection is crucial for a cure.
Dr Ganguly underscores parents' pivotal role in early diagnosis, stating, "It's important to educate parents about symptoms that may be overlooked. We should include comprehensive eye exams in mandatory pediatric check-ups."
Advanced Treatment!
The Hima Bindu Yalamanchili Centre for Eye Cancer at LVPEI’s Kode Venkatadri Chowdary Campus in Vijayawada is a specialized facility providing advanced treatment for managing eye cancer in children and adults. In cancer treatment, LVPEI’s threefold goals are: first, save lives; second, save eyes; and third, save the vision vision. Despite our best efforts to save a life in a significant percentage of patients, eye removal surgery is required. This is more common in developing nations where delayed presentation, incorrect diagnosis, poor compliance to treatment owing to poor access to healthcare facilities, financial constraints, and cultural belief systems are the major hurdles to successful therapy.
Understanding Retinoblastoma: A Call to Action
Retinoblastoma is the most prevalent eye cancer in children, affecting 1 in 16,000-18,000 live births globally. In India alone, it accounts for over 1400 cases annually and comprises 3% of all childhood cancers, of which about 90% are under 3 years of age. Retinoblastoma, if left untreated, is a tumour that is likely to spread outside the eye to the brain and different parts of the body and can cause life risks to the patient.
The Urgency of Early Diagnosis and Treatment
The treatment of retinoblastoma relies on the stage of the disease at which the child is presented. There are various forms of therapy available for this cancer. For smaller tumours, laser or freezing therapy (cryotherapy) is usually sufficient. For larger tumours, the available modalities are intravenous (drip) chemotherapy, eye injection chemotherapy, and rarely radiotherapy.
Spreading awareness about retinoblastoma is crucial for its early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Over the past decade, L V Prasad Eye Institute has treated over 15,000 cases of retinoblastoma across its network centres.
About LVPEI: Established in 1987, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness, is a comprehensive eye health facility. The Institute has ten functional arms to its areas of operations: Clinical Services, Education, Research, Vision Rehabilitation, Rural and Community Eye Health, Eye Banking, Advocacy and Policy Planning, Capacity Building, Innovation, and Product Development. The LVPEI Eye Care Network has 290 Centres spread across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Karnataka in India. The institute’s mission is to provide equitable and quality eye care to all sections of society. The LVPEI’s five-tier ‘Eye Health Pyramid’ model, covering all areas of the community right from the villages to the city, provides high quality and comprehensive - prevention, curative, and rehabilitation – eye care to all. It has served over 36.89 million (3 crores 68 lakh people), with more than 50% entirely free of cost, irrespective of the complexity of care needed.
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