Pakistan sees surge in eye cancer among children, experts warn

Pakistan is witnessing a sharp rise in cases of eye cancer among children, placing the country at the forefront of Asian nations affected by the disease, according to health experts.

The alarming trend was revealed during a seminar titled “Story of Challenges and Opportunities,” where medical professionals raised concerns over the growing number of cases.

Head of the Oculoplastics Department Prof Dr Tayyab Afghani highlighted that Pakistan now reports more pediatric eye cancer cases than India and China. “At least 2,000 children with eye cancer were registered last year, with 500 of them fully recovering,” Dr Afghani said. He stressed that genetic diagnosis could play a critical role in reducing the incidence of eye cancer in children.

Meanwhile, President of the Al-Shifa Trust Maj-Gen (retd) Rehmat Khan shared that the cancer center in Rawalpindi has treated patients across all stages of the disease, from diagnosis to chemotherapy and rehabilitation. Over the past three years, 86 per cent of the patients treated at the hospital were children, and the center has performed 2,500 chemotherapy procedures on pediatric cases.

Read More: PPSC issues examination guidelines

The eye cancer center operates alongside two vital departments: the ophthalmology genetics department, which conducts genetic screening of parents to predict cancer risks in future generations, and the aesthetic department, which focuses on minimising the physical side effects of cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.

According to data available on the hospital’s website, approximately 2,200 out of 150,000 people diagnosed with cancer in Pakistan each year have ocular cancer, leading to nearly 220 deaths annually.