Incidence and characteristics of retinoblastoma in Poland: The first nationwide study 2010–2017

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the incidence and characteristics of retinoblastoma in the overall population of Poland. Methods: The retrospective survey of both National Health Fund (NHF) and National Cancer Registry (NCR) databases were performed to identify all retinoblastoma cases in Poland in the years 2010–2017. Results: During 2010–2017, the mean age-standardised incidence of retinoblastoma (the unit of incidence is per 1,000,000 person-years) was 10.15 (95% CI 7.23–13.08) among children aged 0 to 4 years and 5.39 (95% CI 4.18–6.60) in those aged 0 to 9 years. During 2010–2014 (to allow 5 years of follow-up), the mean incidence of retinoblastoma by birth cohort analysis in Poland was 4.89 (95% CI 4.04–5.74) per 100,000 live births, corresponding to an incidence of 1 per 20,561 (95% CI 15,855–25,267) live births. In Poland, 14.6% of children with retinoblastoma had enucleation of the eye globe, 76.8% received different types of chemotherapy combined with focal treatment, 5.9% were treated with external beam radiotherapy, and 2.7% were treated with focal treatments only. Conclusions: The incidence of retinoblastoma and the pattern of medical management of retinoblastoma in Poland was similar to that reported in developed countries in Western Europe, Asia, and North America.