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Treatment Options for Retinoblastoma

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Intraocular Retinoblastoma

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If the cancer is in one eye and the tumor is large, treatment is usually enucleation. Chemotherapy may be given to shrink the tumor before surgery or after surgery to lower the risk that the cancer will spread to other parts of the body.

If the cancer is in one eye and it is expected that vision can be saved, treatment may include one or more of the following:

External-beam radiation therapy or plaque radiotherapy .
Cryotherapy.
Thermotherapy.
Chemotherapy (chemoreduction).
A clinical trial of chemotherapy using more than one anticancer drug.
A clinical trial of intensity-modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic radiotherapy, or proton beam radiation therapy.

If the cancer is in both eyes, treatment may include one or more of the following:

Chemotherapy (chemoreduction) followed by local treatment such as cryotherapy, thermotherapy, or plaque radiotherapy. This may be done if there is a chance to save vision in both eyes.
Enucleation of one or both eyes, when vision cannot be saved.
A clinical trial of subtenon chemotherapy combined with systemic chemotherapy and local treatment.
A clinical trial of new combinations of chemotherapy and other treatments to the eye.
A clinical trial of gene therapy.
A clinical trial of ophthalmicarterialinfusiontherapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with intraocular retinoblastoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Extraocular Retinoblastoma

There is no standard treatment for extraocularretinoblastoma. Treatment may include combinations of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery.

For retinoblastoma that has spread to the area around the eye, treatment may be systemic chemotherapy followed by surgery (enucleation). More chemotherapy and radiation therapy may be given after surgery.

For retinoblastoma that has spread to the brain, treatment may be the following:

Chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy to the brain and spinal cord.

For trilateral retinoblastoma, treatment may be chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell rescue.

For retinoblastoma that has spread to other parts of the body, treatment may be the following:

High-dose chemotherapy and stem cell rescue.
A clinical trial of chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue and radiation therapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with extraocular retinoblastoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

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WebMD Public Information from the National Cancer Institute

Last Updated: October 07, 2011

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.