High-risk features in primary versus secondary enucleated globes with advanced retinoblastoma: a retrospective histopathological study

The management of bilateral advanced retinoblastoma (RB) cases is challenging with attempts to use neoadjuvant therapy salvaging of one of the globes. Our aim in this study was to demonstrate the effect of this primary therapy on the histopathological features and risk factors in secondary enucleated compared to primarily enucleated globes with groups D and E RB.

We retrospectively reviewed all enucleated globes with advanced RB received in the pathology laboratories over a period of 5 years. Patients were divided into two groups: one with primary enucleations and another with at least one secondary enucleated globe, and their demographic and clinical data were analyzed. The enucleated globes in the two groups were analyzed to compare the general histopathological features including tumor seeding, size, differentiation, growth pattern, mitotic figures, and focality. More importantly, high-risk features: choroidal invasion, optic nerve (ON) invasion, iris/anterior chamber invasion, ciliary body invasion, and scleral and extra-scleral extension, as well as the pathological classification of the tumor (pT) according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th edition were also compared between the two groups.

We had a total of 106 enucleated globes (78 primary and 28 secondary enucleations) from 99 patients with advanced RB (73 patients with primarily and 26 with secondarily enucleated globes). Demographic and clinical profiles of patients were similar in both, but the mean interval from presentation to enucleation was significantly longer in the secondary enucleations (P = 0.015). Rare/occasional mitotic figures were observed in secondary enucleations using multivariate analysis (P = 0.003). Primarily enucleated globes had higher risk of tumor seeding (P = 0.020), post-laminar/surgical margin ON invasion (P = 0.001), and massive choroidal invasion (P = 0.028). Half of the secondary enucleated globes had tumors confined to the globes without invasion (pT1) and statistically significant lower tumor classifications (pT1 or pT2a) compared to primary enucleations (P =0.001). However, 18% of the secondarily enucleated globes in 3 patients had unfavorable outcome with RB-related mortality after a period of 1–4 years.

Secondary enucleated globes with advanced RB show favorable histopathological findings mainly less mitosis. These eyes have significantly lower chance for harboring choroidal and ON invasion, thus mostly classified as pT1 or pT2a when compared to primarily enucleated globes. The decision for secondary enucleation was observed to be significantly delayed (8.0 months ± 9.8). Prompt decision for needed enucleation based on the response to primary treatment and careful histopathological examination of enucleated globes are essential to prevent disease-related mortality.