Alarm eye cancer

Because it is not as common as other cancers, eye cancer is less known. Most people with this disease come to the hospital when it's too late and have to scoop out their eyes .

In 2006, HCMC Eye Hospital received treatment for 372 cancer patients. At the Hospital, oncology meets a few cases every week, including adults and children. Most patients come to the stage to scoop out all eyes.

Too late to preserve eyes

H.'s eyes were protruding like an orange .
(Photo: Dr. Anh Le)

Six years ago, Mr. TPH, 43 years old in An Lac-Ninh Kieu-Can Tho ward, was protruding slowly, stretching and stretching. He went to the lower level hospital for treatment, but his eyes did not relieve pain. Before going to the Department of Traumatology to form the Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital, the eyes of H. had many protrusions due to conjunctival edema (transparent membrane covering the front of the eyeball) and the sight was gone. The patient has profound tears and aches.

Visual acuity of the right eye was completely blind, the patient's left eye had a slight feeling of being bright and dark.

Because the patient was hospitalized too late, the cancer was deeply ingrained in the optic nerve, blinded and pushed the protruding eyes as large as an orange out. The patient had his right eye removed. If coming early, when the eyes are not protruding much and not damaged; that is, the cornea (iris) has not had ulcerative dryness due to the eyes not being closed, and the tumor has not pinched the nerve to damage the vision ., the patient can hope to keep the eye through treatment. with anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressant combined chemotherapy.

Not only adults, but for children, many parents pay little attention to abnormalities in young eyes. Therefore, when going to the hospital, the tumor was enlarged and spread to the optic nerve.

In the morning of May 22, BS. Tran Chanh Khuong, Head of Pediatric Oncology Department - Cancer Hospital, examination for 2 cases of pediatric patients has been scrapped with one eye. Both babies have retinoblastoma.

A baby named VHP, born 4/2006, from Ha Tien, Kien Giang. From 4 months, family members discovered in the iris of the baby's eye a white shadow. After eye examination, optometry, eye ultrasound ., doctors at the HCM City Eye Hospital discovered that the tumor was too big, invaded the optic nerve, so the right eye was scooped out. .

Baby VHP has had his right eye removed, and doctors suspect his baby's left eye also has cancer.(Photo: H.Cat)

Baby P. was transferred to the Oncology Hospital to continue treatment with chemotherapy. The baby has been treated for 6 cycles. However, doctors who monitor and suspect P. baby's left eye are also suffering from cancer, so laser therapy must continue.

The second baby, NMQ, was born in 2005 in Cam Giang district, Hai Duong province, and was removed from his left eye because the tumor invaded the nerves on 12/2/2007. Baby Q is also undergoing chemotherapy at the Oncology Hospital.

Acne, rash, white pupil: Signaling cancer

Eye cancer is not included in 10 common cancers such as breast, lung, liver, stomach . According to 2006 statistics of HCMC Eye Hospital, the total number of eye cancer hospitalized and treated is 372, in that adult accounts for 255. In the Tumor Hospital, eye cancer is a rare disease, but it is not impossible. On average each week there are a few cases including adults and children hospitalized for eye cancer.

"Normally when going to the hospital, patients have very clear tumor symptoms, pinching causes pain, blurred vision, flaking the retina (the membrane that surrounds the eye), and bleeding," Dr. Vu Anh Le, head of the Ho Chi Minh City Eye Surgery Department, said.

Until now, the cause of retinoblastoma is unknown. The medical community determined that the disease is related to the mutation of Rb gene when the child is still in embryonic form.

The cause of genetic mutations may be due to radiation, chemicals, family genetics (20%).

Genetic eye cancer usually occurs soon after birth and in both eyes. Therefore, a couple with a child with eye cancer, the second child is also at high risk of eye cancer.

The most painful thing was that, one year ago, the HCM City Eye Hospital and the Cancer Hospital had treatment regimens, which helped the patients retain their eyeballs and eyesight if the tumor was still small, not affecting the market. force of the eye. It is injecting drugs under the conjunctiva, combined with laser therapy.

But every 10 to 8 children are forced to draw their eyes to protect their lives.However, 50% still have a risk of death within 6-12 months if the results are bad

In adults, eye cancer can come from the conjunctiva (the membrane that covers the eye), comes from the lacrimal gland, and cancer behind the eye, also known as post-glaucoma.

Doctor Dang Huy Quoc Thinh, Head of Department of Radiation 3 - Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, described that patients with eye cancer often have large protruding eyes such as oranges, lumpy tangerines, bleeding and discharge, stinking, and start running lymph nodes.

Meanwhile, BS. Tran Chanh Khuong said, eye cancer, especially retinoblastoma (derived from the retinal cells of the retina), is the fourth ranked cancer among 10 common cancers in children in the city area. Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces, accounting for 6.7% of the total number of children under 15 years old.

"This is a common cancer in children under 3 years old, and the initial manifestation is a white spot in the iris of the eye. Retinoblastoma is also one of the causes of blindness in children, " Dr. Jiang said.

Currently, eye cancer can cure 80-98% in the world, while preserving the eyes both visually and aesthetically. However, in Vietnam, most patients when hospitalized are blinded due to being too late.

Therefore, for adults when eyes have such problem, stalking . must go to the doctor immediately because if it is not a warning sign of cancer, there are still many other diseases related to eyesight.

As for childhood retinoblastoma, white spot in the pupil is an important sign of eye cancer. In addition, 25% of parents found that their child was unusually stunted and the condition became clear and could be a symptom of cancer. Children naturally do not read the words, education suddenly dropped . please take the child to the examination, to have a chance to recover.

"If parents pay attention to abnormalities in the iris of a young child, take it to the hospital and properly treat it, 80% of the results are bright," said the doctor. Advice.

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