Secondary Malignancies in Adulthood and after Retinoblastoma Treatment in Childhood

Advances in retinoblastoma treatment in children nowadays and in the last decades lead to success and adulthood life without problems. Treatment modalities used in childhood to cure the retinoblastoma can affect health later. Some secondary malignancies in patients with retinoblastoma may be long-term side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. However, rates of second cancers in people treated for hereditary retinoblastoma are higher than in people who had sporadic retinoblastoma. The survivors of retinoblastoma in whom second malignant neoplasms develop are at a higher risk for the development of additional tumors than they were for the development of a second tumor. The standardized incidence rate of secondary malignancies is about 15% in inherited cases and about 1.5% in nonheritable retinoblastoma. However, today there is no clear consensus on what, if any, screening protocol would be most appropriate and effective.