Open AccessHistory of chickenpox in glioma risk: a report from the glioma international case–control study ( GICC )
Author(s) -
Amirian E. Susan,
Scheurer Michael E.,
Zhou Renke,
Wrensch Margaret R.,
Armstrong Georgina N.,
Lachance Daniel,
Olson Sara H.,
Lau Ching C.,
Claus Elizabeth B.,
BarnholtzSloan Jill S.,
Il'yasova Dora,
Schildkraut Joellen,
AliOsman Francis,
Sadetzki Siegal,
Jenkins Robert B.,
Bernstein Jonine L.,
Merrell Ryan T.,
Davis Faith G.,
Lai Rose,
Shete Sanjay,
Amos Christopher I.,
Melin Beatrice S.,
Bondy Melissa L.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
cancer medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 2045-7634
DOI - 10.1002/cam4.682
Subject(s) - chickenpox , glioma , medicine , latency (audio) , varicella zoster virus , immunology , case control study , confidence interval , oncology , virus , cancer research , electrical engineering , engineering
Varicella zoster virus ( VZV ) is a neurotropic α ‐herpesvirus that causes chickenpox and establishes life‐long latency in the cranial nerve and dorsal root ganglia of the host. To date, VZV is the only virus consistently reported to have an inverse association with glioma. The Glioma International Case‐Control Study ( GICC ) is a large, multisite consortium with data on 4533 cases and 4171 controls collected across five countries. Here, we utilized the GICC data to confirm the previously reported associations between history of chickenpox and glioma risk in one of the largest studies to date on this topic. Using two‐stage random‐effects restricted maximum likelihood modeling, we found that a positive history of chickenpox was associated with a 21% lower glioma risk, adjusting for age and sex (95% confidence intervals ( CI ): 0.65–0.96). Furthermore, the protective effect of chickenpox was stronger for high‐grade gliomas. Our study provides additional evidence that the observed protective effect of chickenpox against glioma is unlikely to be coincidental. Future studies, including meta‐analyses of the literature and investigations of the potential biological mechanism, are warranted.