Eye tumours are rare compared to other types of cancers, however they can be a serious medical condition, opines Dr Santosh Honavar, organising secretary, XI International Congress of Ocular Oncology (ICOO 2004). Eye tumours can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). The main types of eye (ocular) cancer are retinoblastoma - serious ocular cancer that affects children, malignant melanoma, conjunctival tumours and orbital tumours.

Retinoblastoma is a tumour of childhood that arises in the retina and accounts for about 3 per cent of the cancers occurring in children younger than 15 years. Although it may occur at any age, it most often occurs in younger children, usually before the age of 2 years. Ninety-five per cent of cases are diagnosed before the age of 5 years.

Retinoblastoma is usually confined to the eye, and as a result, more than 90 per cent of children with retinoblastoma can be cured. The present challenge for those who treat retinoblastoma is to prevent blindness and other serious effects of treatment that reduce the life span or the quality of survival, Dr Honavar added.

He said, according to data available, India alone accounts for around 1500 cases of retinoblastoma per year, in comparison to 23 cases in Canada, 45 cases in UK, 250 cases in USA and 275 cases in Pakistan. Retinoblastoma is prevalent in developing countries and the incidence is low in developed countries.