Genetic Testing to Prevent Childhood Eye Cancer

APP
Rawalpindi: Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital announced on Thursday that genetic testing was being planned to prevent and control eye cancer in children.
Dr Tayyab Afghani, consultant and Head of the Department of Orbit and Oculoplastics at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, said a genetic testing lab was under construction and will start functioning in five months to end this fatal disease.
Pakistan was witnessing a high prevalence of eye cancer in children as compared to neighboring countries, adding that the trust had decided to redouble its efforts to combat the menace.
Prof Tayyab Afghani said that around 700 children with eye cancer were treated annually at various trust facilities.
The number was double in its neighboring India, as India registered only 2000 children per year with eye cancer, while its population was five times larger than Pakistan.
He informed me that genetic testing of parents can help control this occurrence in future generations, while genetic tests could be done on a tissue sample removed during a biopsy or surgery.
These tests provide information about how likely cancer would be possible in children, he informed.
Dr Tayyab Afghani said timely detection could restore sight, while the problem could be more complicated and cause vision loss, loss of the eye, or even total blindness.
Eye cancer should not be taken lightly, and a doctor must be consulted without delay as the number of people with eye cancer is on the rise, he said, adding that patients are brought to hospitals only in the final stages.
He said that most children with eye cancer belonged to low-income families living in remote areas, and healthcare facilities were not available to them as specialized eye hospitals were not available in their nearby locations.
Afghani said that some tumors are incurable, while others may severely disfigure the eyes, requiring complex surgical procedures.
He informed me that equipment had been purchased for setting up the genetic testing lab.