CHECT: CUES offers hope for diagnosis

The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) has welcomed the launch of Covid-19 Urgent Eye Services (CUES) as an additional potential route to diagnosis.

Figures released by CHECT show that 24% of children diagnosed with retinoblastoma in 2020 took over six months to be diagnosed, up from an average of 9% over the previous eight years. Only 35% of children were referred within the recommended two-week period.

Patrick Tonks, CEO of CHECT, noted the pressures eye care practitioners had been under but said: ‘The delays in diagnosis we have seen in 2020 have the potential to seriously impact the prognosis for babies and children with eye cancer.’