Drug Delivery Through the Ophthalmic Artery Successful in Advanced Retinoblastoma Pediatric Patients

WASHINGTON, DC -- March 26, 2008 -- A new interventional radiology treatment successfully treats advanced retinoblastoma in children and often spares these patients from having their eyes surgically removed, researchers reported here at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting.

Retinoblastoma is the seventh most common pediatric cancer, with 80% being diagnosed in children aged less than 3 years. Approximately 350 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States and 40% of patients have the genetic form. Five-year survival is 98% in the United States and less than 50% in third-world countries, said Pierre Gobin, MD, Attending Radiologist, Professor of Radiology and Neurosurgery, and Director of Interventional Neuroradiology, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York.

source: Dctors Guide