Open AccessDay Care, Childhood Infections, and Risk of Neuroblastoma
Author(s) -
Florence Ménégaux,
Andrew F. Olshan,
Joseph P. Neglia,
Bradley H Pollock,
Melissa L. Bondy
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
american journal of epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.33
H-Index - 256
eISSN - 1476-6256
pISSN - 0002-9262
DOI - 10.1093/aje/kwh111
Subject(s) - medicine , measles , etiology , odds ratio , pediatrics , childhood leukemia , neuroblastoma , case control study , attendance , confidence interval , epidemiology , immunology , vaccination , leukemia , genetics , lymphoblastic leukemia , biology , economic growth , economics , cell culture
Neuroblastoma is the most common cancer in infants worldwide, but little is known about its etiology. Infectious etiologies involving the immune system have been hypothesized for some childhood cancers, especially leukemia, but the role of infectious agents in neuroblastoma has not been fully investigated. The authors used data from a large case-control study conducted by the Children's Oncology Group in the United States and Canada in 1992-1994 to investigate whether there was any relation among day-care attendance, childhood infections, allergies, and neuroblastoma. They interviewed mothers of 538 case children and 504 age-matched control children by telephone about several factors, including pregnancy, medical history, lifestyle, and childhood medical conditions and exposures. The results suggested decreased risks associated with day-care attendance (odds ratio (OR) = 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56, 1.17), childhood infectious diseases (chickenpox, mumps, red measles, and German measles) (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.39, 0.93), and allergies (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.44, 1.07). The authors found reduced neuroblastoma risk associated with markers of potential childhood infections. This suggests a possible role of infectious agents in neuroblastoma etiology. Future epidemiologic studies should incorporate more direct data on infection.