Delayed diagnosis of retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is the commonest childhood intraocular malignancy. Kodilinye first showed that the disease is not uncommon in Nigeria, when he reported an occurrence rate of one in 192 new patients in Ibadan. His series recorded a high mortality rate which was attributed mainly to late presentation. Abiose in an analysis of 500 consecutive children seen over a six month period at Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, found that 1,2 pc had retinoblastoma. A study in Zaire, noted that delayed diagnosis was responsible for higher mortality in retinoblastoma. Reasons adduced for delayed diagnosis include lack of knowledge, lack of financial means and the long distance most families are required to travel for eye care. Data from the United States of America indicate that retinoblastoma occurs in one in 14 000 to 20 000 live births and that there are 250 to 500 new cases each year.

A CAJM article on the delayed diagnosis of retinoblastoma in Nigerian children.