In hereditary (germinal) retinoblastoma, the RB1 gene is completely mutated from the beginning of the organism's life. The defective DNA occurs in all cells of the body.
In non-hereditary cases, mutations take place at some point early in life and originate when the cells copy themselves.
Thus, only in the hereditary case is the whole genome mutated; for the rest of cases, it may just be the defective genetic material of the cancer cells. As a consequence, hereditary retinoblastoma implies a substantially increased chance of having other cancers later on. It also causes symptoms a year or two earlier.
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