Chidren's Hospital Los Angeles. US: Retinoblastoma is a childhood retinal tumor usually affecting children
one to two years of age. Although rare, it is the most common malignant
tumor of the eye in children. Left untreated, retinoblastoma can be
fatal or result in blindness. It has also played a special role in
understanding cancer, because retinoblastomas have been found to develop
in response to the mutation of a single gene – the RB1
gene—demonstrating that some cells are only a step away from developing
into a life-threatening malignancy.