Cesarean Section and Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in a Population-Based, Record-Linkage Study in California

The relationship of mode of delivery to risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is uncertain. After linking birth records and cancer registry data from California, we conducted a population-based case-control study to investigate the role of delivery by cesarean section (C-section) in the etiology of childhood ALL. This study included 5,081 cases and 18,927 matched controls born in 1978-2009; more detailed data were available on type of C-section (i.e., elective vs. emergency) for a subset of 1,552 cases and 5,688 controls. No association was observed between C-section overall and childhood ALL risk (<15 years of age), but elective C-section was associated with a significantly elevated risk of ALL (odds ratio (OR) = 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 1.36). At the peak ages of ALL incidence (2-4 years), C-section was associated with an 11% higher risk of ALL (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.22) compared with vaginal delivery, and the magnitude of the association was larger for elective C-section (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.70). Emergency C-section was not associated with childhood ALL. Because of design features minimizing nonparticipation and inaccurate recall, this record linkage-based study is less prone to bias. Our results suggest that delivery by elective C-section was associated with a higher risk of childhood ALL, especially at the peak ages of incidence. It is important to evaluate possible mechanisms, because this potential risk factor is modifiable.