Study of conjunctival changes following treatment of retinoblastoma with radiotherapy and chemotherapy

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the treatment of retinoblastoma on the conjunctiva, using the impression cytology technique. Patients and methods The study included three groups comprising 15 eyes each of children aged 1-7 years. Group I comprised patients receiving a complete course of chemotherapy alone since at least 3 months. Group II comprised patients receiving a complete course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy since at least 3 months. Group III was the control group. Impression cytology was used to take samples from the conjunctiva; the samples were fixed with ethyl alcohol 97% and then rehydrated and stained. Microscopic examination was carried out for cohesion power, cell size, nucleus/cytoplasm ratio, distribution of goblet cells, and degree of keratinization. Results As regards age distribution, there were statistically nonsignificant differences between all three groups ( P = 0.73). As regards sex distribution, there were statistically nonsignificant differences between the groups ( P = 0.902). Impression cytology revealed no statistically significant difference between the three groups with respect to the cohesion power, the cell size, nuclear cytoplasm ratio, goblet cell distribution, and the degree of keratinization. Conclusion There is no evident effect of either radiotherapy or systemic chemotherapy used in the treatment of retinoblastoma on the surface of the eyes of the patients, specifically the conjunctival epithelium. Further studies are needed to ascertain the exact effect of modality, or to document the nullity of effect.