An unusual route to saving a child’s eye

Poppy Biagini (left) and Liam Klagges (right), each with the white glow of retinoblastoma in one eye. (Courtesy Dana Biagini and Amy Klagges) All Poppy Biagini’s family knew was that something was off about her right eye. Liam Klagges’ family’s first sign that something was wrong was that his eyes didn’t always track properly, and that his left eyelid hung a little lower than his right. Both children, it turns out, had a tumor called a retinoblastoma. Usually diagnosed in children younger than 5, it’s rare—only about 300 children in the United States are diagnosed with it every year—but grows rapidly from the back of the eye. For that reason, doctors have to start treating it as soon as it’s diagnosed, lest it fill the eye or start invading surrounding tissues. There are a few different ways of treating retinoblastoma, such as chemotherapy, radiation or enucleation (surgical removal of the eye). But both Poppy and Liam’s families elected to try something different—a procedure called intra-arterial (IA) chemotherapy that delivers treatment right to the tumor. Today, both children still have both eyes because of it. Moving quickly According to Poppy’s father, Dana, they caught her tumor because of a family friend. “Her granddaughter had retinoblastoma, so we were familiar with the signs.” After they noted that something was off, their doctor sent them to an ophthalmologist. He, in turn, immediately picked up the pho...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: All posts Cancer Allison O'Neill Ankoor Shah Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center Darren Orbach Deborah VanderVeen intra-arterial (IA) MD our patients' stories PhD retinoblastoma Solid Tumors Center at Da Source Type: news