What is retinoblastoma?
Retinoblastoma starts in the cells of the retina in the eye. A cancerous (malignant) tumour is a group of cancer cells that can grow into nearby tissue and destroy it. The tumour can also spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.
The retina is located at the back of the eyeball. The eye is the organ that lets us see. The retina is made up of special cells that are sensitive to light and colour. When we look at something, light enters the eye and these cells help send signals to the brain to create the image of what we are looking at.
Retinoblastoma is usually found in children younger than the age of 2.
When a fetus (baby) is growing in the
But in rare cases, changes to retinoblasts can cause retinoblastoma. Very rarely, the retinoblasts continue to grow out of control instead of maturing into retinal cells. These retinoblasts can develop mutations in the retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) gene and form a cancerous tumour called retinoblastoma. The normal RB1 gene helps keep cells from growing out of control, but if there is a mutation in this gene, the retinoblasts don't mature and develop as they should. There are 2 copies of the RB1 gene in every cell. There must be a mutation in both copies of the RB1 gene in a retinoblast for a retinoblastoma tumour to develop.
The eyes
Types of retinoblastoma
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