Retinoblastoma Research Identifies Tool for Early Detection in Infants

Baylor University (Texas) and Harvard Medical School (Mass.) researchers are helping make pediatric eye cancer easier to detect. Bryan F. Shaw, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Baylor, discovered, through the use of amateur digital photography, evidence of leukocoria or "white eye," the cardinal symptom of retinoblastoma, can be seen in photographs during the earliest stages of the disease. Their findings potentially pave the way for a new diagnostic tool that enables earlier diagnosis and treatment. Retinoblastoma, mostly occurring in children from birth to 5-years-old, is an aggressive eye cancer that, if not treated in time, can be fatal if it spreads to the brain. The research findings appear online in the academic journal, PLOS One.