OBJECTIVES: I. Estimate the response rate to adjuvant carboplatin (CBDCA) alone in children with intraocular retinoblastoma. II. Assess the overall survival, disease-free survival, and time to treatment failure in these patients. III. Attempt to maintain a 90% disease-free survival rate with this treatment. IV. Estimate the percentage of disease-free survivors who do not require the use of radiotherapy after adjuvant CBDCA. V. Assess the toxicity of this treatment. VI. Estimate the percentage of functional eyes salvaged using this radiation-sparing protocol and compare these results, in a nonrandomized manner, with historical treatment results in this population.