Abstract

Background/aims: To determine the incidence, clinical presentation and histopathological profile of patients developing orbital recurrence following enucleation for retinoblastoma.

Methods: A cohort of 1674 consecutive patients undergoing enucleations between 1914 and 2006 was retrospectively reviewed to identify cases of orbital recurrence. A detailed chart review of all identified patients with orbital recurrence following enucleation was performed. The main outcome measures were histopathological features of the enucleated globe, clinical presentation, status of metastatic disease and clinical outcomes of treatment at last follow-up.

Results: There were 71 cases of orbital recurrence identified in the study, for an incidence of 4.2% (71 of 1674 cases). The diagnosis of orbital recurrence was made between 1 and 24 months after enucleation (mean 6 months), with 69 of the 71 patients (97%) being diagnosed within the first 12 months. Over a follow-up period of 3–208 months (mean 34.8 months), 60 of 71 patients developed metastatic disease (85%), and 53 of 71 patients died from metastatic retinoblastoma (75%). For the subgroup of cases diagnosed as having orbital recurrences after 1984, 10 of 11 patients (91%) are alive and well.

Conclusions: All patients undergoing enucleation for retinoblastoma need to be followed carefully for the first 2 years after surgery for the possibility of orbital relapse. The majority of retinoblastoma patients with orbital tumour recurrence develop systemic metastatic disease, although mortalities appear to be improving in the modern era.