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Epidemiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Retinoblastoma is a rare condition which affects about 1 in 20 000 live births (1).

  • approximately 40 new cases are diagnosed each year (1)
  • majority are seen in children younger than 5 years
  • average age at diagnosis is at 18 months (2)

The incidence In UK decreases noticeably after the age of 1 year:

  • in children aged less than 1 year - 23.6 cases per million
  • in children aged 1-4 years - 8.2 cases per million
  • in children aged 5-9 years - 0.6 cases per million (2)

Worldwide the incidence of retinoblastoma is around 1 case per 15,000-20,000 live births (around 9000 new cases every year) (4)

  • in developing countries the incidence is higher than in developed countries (3)
  • Asia and Africa has the highest disease burden (due to high birth rates) (4)
  • in northern Europe it has remained more or less unchanged over the past 50 years (3).

Bilateral disease are diagnosed earlier (at 12 months) when compared to unilateral disease (at 23 months) (2).

Reference:

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