In October, we ran an interesting piece by Sarah Linea von Holstein, Consultant in Pediatric Ophthalmology at the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, about how Holstein and her team were taking greater steps towards ensuring clinicians in the country were educated on the various ophthalmological signs that might signal potential pediatric tumors, or at least warrant further investigation.
Based on a nationwide cohort study they conducted on children with a brain tumor diagnosis between 2007–2017, which found that over half the children documented had some form of ophthalmological sign(s) prior to their diagnosis, Holstein and her team developed an online clinical tool to help guide clinicians in detecting these warning signs. Concluding her article, Holstein stressed the importance of paying close attention to these sometimes innocuous-seeming symptoms, writing: “What we have learned from our Danish children is that ophthalmologists hold great responsibility in getting children with brain tumors diagnosed.”
This is of course true for anywhere else in the world as it is Denmark – wherever they are based, eye surgeons must hold themselves accountable for spotting (and referring when necessary) any ophthalmic signs that could potentially lead to an earlier tumor diagnosis.
While we occasionally feature news stories on developments in uveal melanoma treatments and retinoblastoma mutations, ocular oncology is not a topic we have covered all that frequently at The Ophthalmologist in the last few years. Although we receive article pitches on many different topics, conditions like retinoblastoma (occurring in roughly one in 15,000-20,000 live births) and uveal melanoma (roughly around 5.1-5.2 per million in the US) are rare in both reality and out inbox.
Naturally, our editorial focus tends towards more common, pressing diseases like cataracts and glaucoma and myopia and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). But as high-volume clinicians, ophthalmologists still need to be made aware of these rare cases and how they present themselves in patients, no matter the rarity. To that end, organizations like the Melanoma Research Foundation set up its CURE OM Initiative in 2011, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is now offering sessions such as its Ocular Oncology & Pathology Subspecialty Day, aimed at training ophthalmologists in both detecting and managing ocular tumor cases.
To ensure we too are giving this issue the space it deserves, it would be great to hear voices from other parts of the world dealing directly with ocular cancer right now. As we saw with Holstein’s Danish-specific byline, this seemingly niche topic can have far-reaching, universal implications. And so if you would like to pen your own piece on this issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
I would love to hear your thoughts, wherever in the world you happen to be: alun.evans@conexiant.com.
