Retinoblastoma in Taiwan: Incidence and survival characteristics from 1979 to 2003

Purpose To describe the incidence and survival rate of patients with retinoblastoma in Taiwan over a 25-year period, from 1979 to 2003. Methods Cases of retinoblastoma have been reported to the Taiwan National Cancer Registry (TNCR) since 1979. Retinoblastoma data from 1979 to 2003 were retrieved from the TNCR databank for analysis of both the incidence and survival rate. Trends in the incidence rate were estimated by calculating the annual percentage change (APC). Results From 1979 to 2003, a total of 380 patients (182 47.9% females) with retinoblastoma were identified. Of the 380 cases, 359 patients (94.5%) were diagnosed before 5 years of age. The average annual age-standardized incidence rate was 4.45 per million in children under 10 years of age and 8.58 per million in children under 5 years of age. There was a significant increasing trend in the incidence rate over the study period with an APC of 2.3% (P=0.035). Before the implementation of Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) Program in 1995, the mean age at diagnosis was 4.813.3 years and the 5-year survival rate was 74.7%. After implementation of the NIH Program, the mean age at diagnosis decreased to 1.62.1 years (P