Spectrum and demographic profile of pediatric intraocular tumors from a single center in India: an analysis of 445 eyes

To describe the spectrum, demographic profile and distribution of intraocular oncology cases; both benign and malignant, in pediatric population in India.

It was a retrospective study done at a tertiary care hospital over a period of seven years (January 2015- December 2022) which included all the children aged 0–16 years, clinically diagnosed as intraocular tumors (benign or malignant) referred to our Ocular Oncology clinic. The data was retrieved from medical records department as well as electronic medical system (EMR) system. Age-wise distribution and demographic details were analyzed amongst these children.

A total of 310 (n = 445) patients were included. Mean age at presentation was 28.80 ± 28.58 months (median, 22 months; range, 0-176). Males were 168 (54.2%) and females were 142 (45.9%). 43.9% of the patients were in the age group between 2 and 3 years. 69.1% of the patients travelled around 100–500 km for treatment. Mean duration of symptoms was 4.7 ± 8.9 months, mean time interval between symptom and visit to our hospital was 4.8 ± 8.9 months and mean total follow-up period was 34 ± 30.7 months (median, 25 months; range, 0-105). Leukocoria (65.5%) was the most common presenting symptom amongst all the patients. Most common intraocular tumor amongst all the age group was retinoblastoma (88.4%). This was followed by combined hamartoma of retina and retinal pigment epithelium (CHRRPE) (3%, n = 11), astrocytic hamartoma (2.6%, n = 15), retinocytoma (1.6%, n = 5), choroidal hemangioma (1%, n = 3), simple hamartoma of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) (1%, n = 3), Medulloepithelioma (1%, n = 3) and others (2%).

The most common malignant tumor was retinoblastoma and benign tumor was CHRRPE. Appropriate referral and early detection of these oncological diseases will play a crucial role in their prognosis and outcome.