How Retinoblastoma Is A Form Of Cancer

Glioblastoma (pronounced like gleO blastoma) is an incurable brain cancer,Survival rate is usually measured in months.This became a word that was instantly defined, researched, dissected, feared, and tried to comprehend and understand by family,friends and acquaintances of Larry McKee (McKee)who was personally affected from this single word, it was quickly added to their vocabulary, because of the of the events that transpired on October 22, 2011 that forever changed lives “Glioblastomas are tumors that arise from the astrocytes- the star-shaped cells that make up the “glue-like,” or supportive tissue of the brain. These tumors are usually highly malignant (cancerous) because the cells reproduce quickly and they are supported by a large network of blood vessels.”(A.B.T A..) He was diagnosed with stage four.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive form of malignant brain cancer in adults. On average, 8 of every 100,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with glioblastoma every year – representing approximately 2% of all cancers diagnosed [1]. Glioblastoma tumors form when astrocytes, star-shaped cells which support and protect the brain, re-enter the cell cycle and start to rapidly divide. Because the brain is supported by a large network of blood vessels, tumors grow quickly and are difficult to remove surgically. Present treatments for glioblastoma are limited to surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy; however, despite these interventions tumors are likely to regrow. Consequently, typical survival time following glioblastoma diagnosis is less than 2 years.

Dr Jennifer Chan, the head of this tumor research, is an Associate Professor & Neuropathologist in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Oncology, and Clinical Neuroscience in the University of Calgary. Besides her work on education, she is also directing a tumorigenesis research team at the University of Calgary, and a tumor banking program which supports pediatric cancer research. Nonetheless, she is also a member of both the Southern Alberta Cancer Research Institute and the Experimental and Applied Therapeutics Program (ExpAT).

Many sporadic melanomas are also found to have mutations or loss of expression of this tumor suppressor gene, known to act in the same signaling pathway as the retinoblasma cases (see 3.3 Tumor suppressor genes).

Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of inheritable diseases that is characterized by gradual deterioration of the photoreceptors in the retina. The photoreceptor cells in the retina, rod cells, are light sensitive cells that are able to sense low levels of light. The frequency of retinitis pigmentosa is one in four thousand births (Deng et al., 2015; Fahim et al., 2012; Haddad et al., 2016; Shu et al., 2012) People affected by retinitis pigmentosa will typically exhibit symptoms of night-blindness first, and this will precede a loss in the patient’s visual acuity field that starts from the outer edge and gradually moves inward resulting in a much smaller visual field and loss of peripheral vision, also known as tunnel vision (Haddad et al., 2016).

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is one of such currently untreatable causes of blindness. RP, along with Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) are amongst the more frequent causes of blindness in the developed world (Greenwald 2009), while RP itself is the leading cause of inherited blindness (Palanker 2004).

CNS tumors represent the second most frequent tumor of childhood and the most common pediatric solid tumor; approximately 2,200 patients under the age of 20 are diagnosed each year with invasive CNS tumors, and CNS tumors are the number one cause of death from childhood cancer. [1] Therapeutic strategies generally involve surgery as a primary intervention, but complete resection is often not possible due to tumor location. In such cases, adjunct therapies, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy, may be required based on the tumor histology and presence of residual tumor. [2]

Neuroblastoma was Dr. Audrey Evan’s main point of medical research, which is one of the most common cancers in children and the most common in infancy. Neuroblastoma is a

predominant in younger kids while teens are faced with the repercussions of lymphoma and sarcoma.

Glioma is a solid primary tumour that starts in the brain and has a very high mortality rate. Brain tumours are most common in adults but can also affect children. There are two types of tumours one type is called the low-grade tumour and this is the slow growing tumours that are referred to as non-malignant. High-grade tumours are fast growing and are referred to as malignant tumours. However even though there are different grades they both have the potential to cause harm. The high grade which are cancerous are the most difficult to treat this is because of highly vascularized nature of the tumour. Treating high-grade gliomas requires specific alterations within the cells. Patients who suffer from a brain tumour will have many symptoms.

1. Red – retinal arterioles, hemorrhaging, neovascularization, vascular anomalies, vascular tumors, retinal breaks, holes in retinoschisis, cilioretinal artery, and inner portion of thin areas of retina

The response stage is when the body reaches its point of showing visible signs. Neuroblastoma in fetus’ can be detected though ultrasounds, and toddlers and young children have a greater chance of developing this disease. Because the disease forms in early development within nerve cells children have a greater chance of being effected by this cancer. Some of the visible signs that can lead to indications of this disease are often found in the abdominal area, inflammation in the stomach, darkening of the eyes, bruising on the bodies integumentary system, lack of appetite, nervous related signs like weakness, bodies numb feelings, vertigo, and inner bone pain. When the body begins to develop visual signs it is most likely that the cells have developed into tumors within the nerve tissues. The fact that the disease travels in nerve tissues it is hard for doctors to locate where the origination took place, and it is likely for the disease to go undetected in early stages of formation.

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), also known as rod cone dystrophy, is a rare genetic disease that affects the retinas in the eyes. In the United States, it affects 1 in 4,000 people making it the most common inherited retina disease (Nash, et al., 2015). This disease usually leads to blindness because of the deterioration of the light-sensing cells in the retina. Within the retina, there are cells called rods and cones. For people who have RP, the rods, which are responsible for night and peripheral vision, are the cells that deteriorate first. After the rods are affected, the cones follow. Cones are responsible for color perception and central vision. Usually, symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa show up during childhood. At this stage in life, children affected with this disease have a loss of night vision. As these children become adults, the disease causes their eyes develop blind spots in their peripheral vision and eventually these blind spots will merge and create tunnel vision (Nash, et al., 2015). Over time, the disease will affect central vision. Central vision

Retinoblastoma is an ocular malignancy occurring during childhood, which can affect both eyes and is extremely dangerous if it is left untreated. A loss of sight and even death can result from a lack of treatment. It affects around 1 in 15,000 children and is responsible for 2.5% to 4% of the total paediatric cancers making it the most common cancer of the eye in children [1] [2]. It is caused by a deletion mutation on chromosome 13 causing the inactivation of the retinoblastoma gene (RB1) [3]. The condition can be inherited from the patient’s parent, however there is also a non-heritable form of the disease which occurs spontaneously [2]. The heritable form of retinoblastoma shows autosomal dominance. If diagnosed early, the

Cancer, one of the most feared words in our vocabulary of this time, especially in childhood (Druker 1). Most people when thinking of “childhood cancer” envision very young children, although a “Nation Institute of Health Policy concerning inclusion of children in clinical research defines children as being younger than twenty-one years of age while the Food and Drug Administration considers children to be fifteen years and younger” (Ries 158). That being said, most cancers incidence peak among children occurs during the first year of life (Gurney 149). Some of the most well-known nationwide childhood cancers are leukemia, brain cancer, and other central nervous system cancers (oeconline 1). In conjunction, “the side effects of treatment,