Physician Highlight
 Dr. A. Linn Murphree
Director of the Retinoblastoma Program, Dr. Murphree has devoted his professional career to uncovering the mysteries of retinoblastoma and caring for children with childhood eye cancer. He established the retinoblastoma referral center at Children's Hospital Los Angeles more than thirty years ago. Today it is a global resource for physicians and families.
Read his Bio
Meet the Retinoblastoma Program Team
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The Retinoblastoma Program in The Vision Center at Children's Hospital Los Angeles was established over 30 years ago. Today it is the global resource for physicians and families facing a diagnosis of pediatric eye cancer.
"We’re committed to being a source of hope for families who need our care. That’s why we take our research findings from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside as quickly as possible," says Dr. Murphree.
Dr. Murphree and his team in the Retinoblastoma Program have been instrumental in identifying the genetic mutation causing retinoblastoma and has recently developed a new classification system to describe the disease. He has also developed a technique to deliver chemotherapy into the eye without the need for injections or intravenous infusions. The hope is that this will allow better treatment for more aggressive tumors that will often go on to result in total loss of vision or the eye.
Achievements in Retinoblastoma
- In 1987, identification of the gene that causes retinoblatoma (Rb).
- The invention of the RetCam more than 20 years ago. The device is now used worldwide for delicate surgery in the back of the eye.
- First in the nation to offer gene testing for all retinoblastoma patients, and the first to offer a prenatal diagnosis for the disease.
- Pioneered the concept of chemoreduction (reducing the volume of intraocular retinoblastoma with systematic chemotherapy followed by eradication with focal laser or freezing heat).
- Spearheaded the formation of a new core facility in the Saban Research Institute, which will use proteomics to search for novel serum markers that herald the onset of new cancers.
- Development of a new drug delivery system to treat chemotherapy directly to the eye.
Learn More About Retinoblastoma
Retinoblastoma Research
These studies, under the direction of Dr. Murphree, focus primarily on cutting-edge treatments using photochemotherapy - in which chemotherapy is administered, then activated in the tumor with light. Other investigations led to the development of a new classification system for retinoblastoma that can closely predict treatment outcomes.
Research into retinoblastoma at Children's Hospital Los Angeles has made tremendous progress in the outcomes for patients. As recently as 10 to 15 years ago, children diagnosed with retinoblastoma typically lost at least one eye, and often lost their lives. Today, the prognosis has vastly improved and eyesight can often be saved.
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