LVPEI study shows a simple eye test can diagnose Leukemia
A landmark study by Hyderabad’s L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, has revealed that routine eye exams could play a crucial role in diagnosing and managing leukemia. Examining 244 patients over eight years, researchers found that 64 percent showed retinal or optic nerve changes.
Hyderabad: A routine eye exam could soon potentially become a critical tool to diagnose, predict and manage leukemia, the devastating cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
Leukemia is a systemic cancer that afflicts any part of the body. However, a groundbreaking study by Hyderabad researchers, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology (August, 2025), has indicated that eyes often provide the first vital diagnostic clues of leukemia.
As part of the study, the researchers from Hyderabad-based LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) examined data from 244 leukemia patients over eight years and found that 64 percent of patients exhibited changes in the retina and optic nerve.
The study revealed crucial differences in how the four main subtypes of leukemia manifest through the eye, identifying specific ‘ocular biomarkers’ that could potentially serve as reliable indicators for cancer, disease relapse, and overall patient prognosis.
In the study, the researchers said “Ophthalmic manifestations are major diagnostic and prognostic clues for leukaemias. Pattern recognition facilitates timely recognition, risk stratification, management and even disease remission prediction”.
The LVPEI research team found retinal hemorrhages (bleeding) to be very common among patients with myeloid leukemia (Acute and Chronic). The eye researchers in the study indicated that hemorrhagic changes were frequent even in the slower-progressing chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a sign that is often associated with acute cases.
Some other forms of leukemia cause changes in the eye like swelling of the optic disc, which can be detected quickly by simple eye tests. The study also indicated that having myeloid leukemia significantly increases the chances of a poor visual outcome for the patient.
The LVPEI researchers have maintained that such studies, which use ocular clues to diagnose and improve treatment decisions for leukemia patients, could pave the way for collaborative care among eye and cancer specialists.
Dr. Dhwanee Agarwal and Dr. Vishal Raval, the authors of the study said that remission of leukemia can be detected through eye tests. “One of the first signs of the remission of leukemia can show-up in the eye examination”.
