ArticleFrontiers in oncology2025
Retinoblastoma in times of war: changing patterns of presentation, treatment, and prognosis in Gaza.
Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a curable childhood eye cancer when treated early, yet survival remains far lower in developing countries than developed countries. Delayed access to specialized care is a key barrier, and armed conflicts further worsen outcomes. Since October 2023, Gaza has endured a devastating war and complete siege, leading to health system collapse, medicine shortages, and restricted movement. This study examined the impact of war-related delays on presentation, treatment, and outcomes in Gaza's Rb patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 12 children (17 eyes) with retinoblastoma treated at King Hussein Cancer Center (2016-2025), grouped into pre-war (2016-Oct 2023; 7 patients, 10 eyes) and during-war (Oct 2023- Oct 2025; 5 patients, 7 eyes) cohorts. Data included presenting signs, lag time, stage, treatment, eye salvage, metastasis, and survival. Results: Median lag-time increased from 30 days before the war to 180 days (range 120-270) during the siege. Disease severity was significantly worse: before the war, only 20% of eyes were group E and none had extraocular disease, whereas during the war 57% were group E and 29% presented with extraocular extension(p=0.036). Eye salvage dropped dramatically, from 70% pre-war to 29% during the war(p=0.046). Primary enucleation rose nearly threefold, from 20% before the war to 57% during the siege, and 20% in the war had bilateral enucleation. Critically, while no patient in the pre-war cohort developed metastasis or died, 40% of children during the war developed metastasis and 20% died. Conclusion: The siege during the Gaza war had a devastating impact on outcomes. It substantially increased the risk of death from retinoblastoma; an otherwise highly curable childhood cancer when timely treatment is available. Outcomes were dictated not by medical limitations but by political and humanitarian barriers. Urgent international action is essential to secure humanitarian corridors, safeguard children's right to timely cancer treatment, and ensure healthcare is protected from the effects of war.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.