Global, regional and national burden due to retinoblastoma in children aged younger than 10 years from 1990 to 2021

Background Retinoblastoma (RB), an aggressive intraocular malignant neoplasm, is a significant contributor to the global disease burden in early childhood. To date, there has been no analysis of global burden and trends in RB among children. This study provides the incidence, mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of RB among 0–9 years old children by age, sex, location, and sociodemographic index (SDI) level between 1990 and 2021, aiming to provide novel and robust information for health policy, allocation of medical resources and strategies for fighting RB. Methods Data were retrieved from newly released Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. The measures were estimated both as numerical counts and age-standardised rates per 100,000 population. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to do a rigorous examination on the temporal trends, estimated as the average annual percentage change (AAPC). Spearman’s correlation test was used to examine the relationship between SDI and the burden of RB by location and year. Results Globally, the age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardised mortality rate (ASMR), and age-standardised DALYs rate (ASDR) for RB among young children in 2021 were 0.09 [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 0.05 to 0.13], 0.04 (95%UI: 0.03 to 0.06), and 3.65 (95%UI: 2.21 to 4.96), respectively. Despite an overall increasing trend [AAPC: 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.42 to 0.82], the incidence rate of RB demonstrated a significant decrease from 2019 to 2021, whereas overall downward trends were observed in terms of mortality and DALYs rate for RB. Trends in ASIR varied across regions, and the increased trends of ASIR of RB was highest in East Asia. Among all GBD regions, only Southern Sub-Saharan Africa exhibited increasing trends of mortality and DALYs rate. Gender comparisons showed negligible differences in ASIR, ASMR and ASDR in 2021. Moreover, the highest disease burden was noted in early neonatal (0–6 days), and 2–4 years old children at global and regional levels. The SDI-based analysis showed that the incidence rate of RB increased along with the increase in SDI level. In addition, the associations reflected a significantly negative correlation between the SDI level and ASMR as well as ASDR of RB among children aged 0–9 years. Conclusions RB related incidence, mortality, and DALYs varied across age and locations from 1990 to 2021. Evaluating spatiotemporal trends over time underscores the impact of health policies and substantial public health measures on the control of RB.