Retinoblastoma with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, polyposis coli, and multiple hamartomas

Abstract

It has long been recognized that compared with their age- and sex-matched controls, survivors of hereditary retinoblastoma have a considerably higher risk of the development of second malignancies (10% at 20 years and 15% at 30 years of follow-up), including osteosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, melanoma, fibrosarcoma, and other rare spindle cell sarcomas. 1,2 Patients with the nongenetic variety of retinoblastoma do not particularly seem to have an increased incidence of other malignancies than the general population. 1 However, it should be noted that a child with unilateral disease carries a 15% chance of having germline mutation. 3 The cumulative mortality rate from second malignancies was 1.5% at 40 years after unilateral retinoblastoma diagnosis and 26% for bilateral cases in a large survey of 1458 patients. 2 A child with unilateral retinoblastoma, café au lait spots, hairy nevus, and grouped pigmentation of retina in the fellow eye is described who furthermore developed acute leukemia and polyposis coli.