Retinoblastoma in Ceara: An epidemiological study in a Brazilian pediatric oncology referral center.

Purpose: Although Brazil has a high prevalence of retinoblastoma, there is a lack of epidemiological data on the disease. Thus, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the epidemiological profile of patients diagnosed with retinoblastoma in the ophthalmology department of a pediatric tertiary referral hospital in Ceara, Brazil.

Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted by retrospectively analyzing the clinical and socioeconomic data from the medical records of pediatric patients followed-up at the hospital between 2007 and 2021. Retinoblastoma was diagnosed on the basis of a fundoscopic or histopathologic examination.

Results: The data of 105 patients were included in the study, and the mean patient age at the time of diagnosis was 1.7 years. Most of the patients were women (50.5%) and hailed from rural areas (57.4%), which was associated with a higher tumor stage. Of the 150 patients, 57.1% initially presented with leukocoria. Ocular hyperemia was associated with more advanced stages of retinoblastoma (p=0.004). Bilateral involvement was observed in 25.7% of the patients and at a significantly younger age (p=0.009). The presence of retinal detachment, vascularized lesions, and vitreous seeds significantly increased the likelihood of requiring enucleation.

Discussion: This study presents an epidemiological description of retinoblastoma in Brazil, which highlights the significance of early detection. Delayed diagnosis is associated with a poorer visual prognosis and higher mortality rate, particularly in patients with unilateral disease. Risk factors for a more severe disease were retinal detachment, vascularized lesions, and vitreous seeds. The correlation between histopathological features and clinical outcomes was limited.

Conclusion: Further studies are required to assess the influence of ocular hyperemia, fundoscopic assessment, and histopathologic findings on the prognosis of retinoblastoma. Moreover, it is critical to devise interventions to reduce the time-to-diagnosis in rural areas.