SIOP-PODC recommendations for graduated-intensity treatment of retinoblastoma in developing countries.

ABSTRACT

Retinoblastoma remains incurable in many regions of the world. The major obstacles to cure are delayed diagnosis, poor treatment compliance, and lack of evidence-based recommendations for clinical management. Although enucleation is curative for intraocular disease, in developing countries retinoblastoma is often diagnosed after the disease has disseminated beyond the eye. A SIOP-PODC committee generated guidelines for the clinical management of retinoblastoma in developing countries and developed a classification system based on the resources available in those settings. Recommendations are provided for staging and treatment of unilateral and bilateral retinoblastoma and counseling of families for whom compliance is an issue.