The eye care experts are of the view that the latest smartphones embedded with advance software applications like ‘CRADLE’ can be used to detect eye cancer in the children. Similarly, smartphones with flash cameras can also be used to detect the white pupil inside the eye, which is the major cause of eye cancer in children.

According to Dr Santosh G. Honavar, retinoblastoma, eye cancer in children can be detected easily with smartphones as the white pupil in the eye gets reflected in flash photos. “India has the highest number of retinoblastoma affected children in the world with about 1,500 new cases reported each year. If not detected early, it can take lives of many kids. It is a quite a regular practice to take photos of children on their birthdays. If you notice a white reflection in the eyes of your child instead of black in those photos, that is the symptom of retinoblastoma in kids There are some apps like ‘CRADLE app’ also known as the White Eye Detector based on Android and other platforms are now available which make it possible to scan photos for the glow which can help detect cancer in kids,” informed Dr. Santosh G. Honavar, director, medical services, CFS and head, ocular oncology.

However, the leading eye care experts from Apollo Hospitals said that there have been new treatment techniques and new medical procedures being evolved from time to time to cure retinoblastoma. One such treatment procedure is the Intra-arterial (IA) chemotherapy. “Intra-arterial chemotherapy is a new treatment regimen gaining popularity for the eye,” said Dr. Vijay Anand P Reddy, ocular oncologist, CFS and Apollo Hospitals.

Retinoblastoma is the most common and life-threatening eye cancer in very young children, new born and kids upto 3 years of age, generally resulting in removal of the eye. Each year, more than 5000 new cases of retinoblastoma are diagnosed in the world, of which a third (over 1500) are diagnosed in India. Awareness on retinoblastoma is low and it is completely curable if detected early. With improved techniques and technologies, survival of children with retinoblastoma has improved but low awareness is still a cause of concern. If the child is examined early by a child specialist or an eye doctor and referred to an eye cancer specialist for treatment, then the cancer can be controlled and the child’s life, eye and vision can be saved.

This new Intra-arterial chemotherapy delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to a tumour unlike in the old procedure, intravenous chemotherapy which can also affect other healthy tissues. The procedure which costs Rs 1.25 lakh as against the old procedure costing only Rs.5,000/- minimises exposure to healthy tissues. This new delivery method minimises side effects, like nausea and vomiting, and maximises the cancer-killing properties of the drugs.