Retinoblastoma - Childhood: Latest Research

Approved by the Cancer.Net Editorial Board, 09/2023

ON THIS PAGE: You will read about the scientific research being done to learn more about retinoblastoma and how to treat it. Use the menu to see other pages.

Doctors are working to learn more about retinoblastoma, ways to prevent it, how to best treat it, and how to provide the best care to children diagnosed with retinoblastoma. The website of the Children’s Oncology Group offers a list of clinical trials researching the treatment options listed below, and these clinical trials may be open for some children with retinoblastoma. Always talk with your child’s doctor about the best diagnostic and treatment options for your child.

  • More intensive treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy to preserve vision for children with advanced disease in both eyes

  • Improved ways to deliver chemotherapy directly to the eye so that children can be spared the side effects of receiving chemotherapy to the entire body

  • Less intensive treatment with chemotherapy for small tumors

  • Better ways of determining when to use chemotherapy after enucleation, and whether chemotherapy can prevent the spread of a tumor

  • Aggressive treatment to cure children who have had a recurrence of retinoblastoma or have had the cancer spread outside the eye

  • Better ways of reducing symptoms and side effects of current retinoblastoma treatments in order to improve patients’ comfort and quality of life

Looking for More About the Latest Research?

If you would like more information about the latest areas of research in retinoblastoma, explore these related items that take you outside of this guide:

The next section in this guide is Coping with Treatment. It offers some guidance on how to cope with the physical, emotional, social, and financial changes that cancer and its treatment can bring. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.