Cancer Associated and Related Autoimmune Retinopathies

Cancer associated retinopathy (CAR) is a member of a spectrum of disease called autoimmune retinopathy. It was first described 1976 with three cancer patients with blindness caused by diffuse retinal degeneration. In CAR, retinal degeneration occurs in the presence of auto-antibodies that cross react with tumor-tissue and retinal-tissue antigens which are recognized as foreign. In many instances, visual loss from CAR precedes the diagnosis of cancer.