Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2023 Nov 22;107(12):1818-1822.
doi: 10.1136/bjo-2022-321159.

Risk factors associated with abandonment of care in retinoblastoma: analysis of 692 patients from 10 countries

Affiliations
Observational Study

Risk factors associated with abandonment of care in retinoblastoma: analysis of 692 patients from 10 countries

Thamanna Nishath et al. Br J Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: Rates of care abandonment for retinoblastoma (RB) demonstrate significant geographical variation; however, other variables that place a patient at risk of abandoning care remain unclear. This study aims to identify the risk factors for care abandonment across a multinational set of patients.

Methods: A prospective, observational study of 692 patients from 11 RB centres in 10 countries was conducted from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify risk factors associated with higher rates of care abandonment.

Results: Logistic regression showed a higher risk of abandoning care based on country (high-risk countries include Bangladesh (OR=18.1), Pakistan (OR=45.5) and Peru (OR=9.23), p<0.001), female sex (OR=2.39, p=0.013) and advanced clinical stage (OR=4.22, p<0.001). Enucleation as primary treatment was not associated with a higher risk of care abandonment (OR=0.59, p=0.206).

Conclusion: Country, advanced disease and female sex were all associated with higher rates of abandonment. In this analysis, enucleation as the primary treatment was not associated with abandonment. Further research investigating cultural barriers can enable the building of targeted retention strategies unique to each country.

Keywords: Child health (paediatrics); Epidemiology; Neoplasia; Public health; Retina.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

    1. Dimaras H, Kimani K, Dimba EAO, et al. Retinoblastoma. The Lancet 2012;379:1436–46. - PubMed
    1. Stacey AW, Bowman R, Foster A, et al. Incidence of retinoblastoma has increased: results from 40 European countries. Ophthalmology 2021;128:1369–71. - PubMed
    1. Kivelä T The epidemiological challenge of the most frequent eye cancer: retinoblastoma, an issue of birth and death. Br J Ophthalmol 2009;93:1129–31. - PubMed
    1. Global Retinoblastoma Study Group, Fabian ID, Abdallah E, et al. Global retinoblastoma presentation and analysis by National income level. JAMA Oncol 2020;6:685–95. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fernandes AG, Pollock BD, Rabito FA. Retinoblastoma in the United States: a 40-year incidence and survival analysis. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus 2018;55:182–8. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources