site.btaFirst Forum Dedicated Entirely to Intraocular Tumors in Children and Adults Opens in Sofia

The first forum entirely dedicated to intraocular tumors in children and adults was held in Sofia. The symposium "Intrabulbar tumors" was opened by the President of the Bulgarian Society of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Neuroophthalmology and Ophthalmogenetics prof. Alexander Oscar.

The subject is extremely topical and is associated with a lot of sorrow and pain for the patients and their relatives, but it has also been associated with a lot of optimism in recent years, prof. Oscar said at the beginning. 

He read out an address on behalf of Health Minister Hristo Hinkov. "This is a historic moment for Bulgaria, because an event dedicated to this topic is being held for the first time in our country. I believe that the forthcoming discussions will have a wide public response and will help to overcome many of the specific challenges faced by onco-ophthalmology specialists. Malignant eye diseases are a complex pathology to diagnose and treat, affecting both children and adults. It is therefore essential to work towards the introduction of the most successful and up-to-date diagnostic and therapeutic methods in onco-ophthalmology," the Minister's address reads. "The decisions you will take today will support the development of onco-ophthalmology not only at the national level, but also at the international level. All this is in the interest of science and of patients."

Activities related to eye health were proposed for inclusion in the National Health Strategy 2030, Prof. Alexander Oscar said.

The proposals sent to the Parliamentary Committee on Health are on his behalf, that of Assoc. Marin Atanasov, President of the Bulgarian Glaucoma Society and prof. Iva Petkova, President of the Bulgarian Society of Retinology.

According to the 2021 Annual Report on the State of the Nation's Health, published in January 2023, data on the state of children's eye health shows a significant increase in eye diseases leading to impaired vision. Regarding the health status of schoolchildren, the report notes that eye diseases occupy the second place in the structure of incidence among schoolchildren. Timely diagnosis and treatment of these conditions is the basis for preventing adverse complications of visual impairment and are a major goal of child eye health prevention. 

According to the analyses of the Vision for Vision project, Bulgaria is among the countries whose unmet eye and vision health needs are on average four times higher than those in high-income countries, and the needs in vulnerable populations exceed this number many times over. In 2022, Retina International announced the results of the resources needed for the treatment and social adaptation of patients with age-related macular degeneration. The results of the study show that for Bulgaria the economic impact of late stages of age-related macular degeneration is enormous and amounts to EUR 449.4 million (BGN 879.5 million). According to the study, the largest share of costs is related to the deterioration of health and quality of life of patients and their relatives.