What is "retinoblastoma"

n. (context pathology English) A malignant tumour of the retina; a hereditary condition found mostly in children.

n. malignant ocular tumor of retinal cells; usually occurs before the third year of life; composed of primitive small round retinal cells

Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common malignant cancer of the eye in children, and it is almost exclusively found in young children.

Though most children survive this cancer, they may lose their vision in the affected eye(s) or need to have the eye removed.

Almost half of children with retinoblastoma have a hereditary genetic defect associated with retinoblastoma. In other cases, it is caused by a congenital mutation in the chromosome 13 gene, 13q14.