Childhood cancer and parental occupation in Finland.

Hemminki, Kari; Saloniemi, Irma; Salonen, Tuula; Partanen, Timo; Vainio, Harri

doi:10.1136/jech.35.1.11

Cited by 106 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…As well as Wilms' tumour, several other types of childhood cancer have been linked with potential occupational exposure of fathers to pesticides, including acute leukaemia, brain tumours and Ewing's bone sarcoma (Hemminki et al, 1981;Laval and Tuyns, 1988;Wilkins and Koutras, 1988;Magnani et al, 1990;Holly et al, 1992;Buckley et al, 1994;Mulder et al, 1994;Kristensen et al, 1996). However, our findings do not support any of these associations.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 57%

Childhood cancer and paternal employment in agriculture: the role of pesticides

Fear¹,

Roman²,

Reeves³

et al. 1998

Br J Cancer

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Summary Previous studies have suggested that the offspring of men potentially exposed to pesticides at work may be at increased risk of kidney cancer (Wilms' tumour), brain tumours, Ewing's bone sarcoma and acute leukaemia. This paper examines the association between potential occupational exposure of fathers to pesticides and offspring's death from cancer in a large national database. Records for 167 703 childhood deaths occurring during 1959-63, 1970-78 and 1979-90 in England and Wales have been analysed. Among the offspring of men with potential occupational exposure to pesticides there were 5270 deaths, of which 449 were due to cancer. Associations were assessed using proportional mortality ratios (PMRs), with adjustment for age, year of death and paternal social class. Of the childhood cancers previously linked with potential paternal occupational exposure to pesticides, the only statistically significant excess was for kidney cancer (PMR = 1.59, 95% Cl = 1.18-2.15, based on 42 deaths). Although these results offer some support for the suggestion that paternal occupational exposure to pesticides may be related to the subsequent development of kidney cancer in offspring, other explanations cannot be excluded. In the light of the findings presented here and elsewhere, further, more detailed, research into the nature of this relationship is warranted.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 57%

Childhood cancer and paternal employment in agriculture: the role of pesticides

Fear¹,

Roman²,

Reeves³

et al. 1998

Br J Cancer

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“…Similarly, the 'medium' contact category in that investigation included certain sales workers who were regarded in the present study as having a high level of contacts. Several other studies have examined parental occupation in relation to leukaemia or to all malignancies in childhood but not in relation to contact levels or to any aspect of infection (Hemminki et al, 1981;Sanders et al, 1981;Van Steensel-Moll et al, 1985;Arundel and Kinnier-Wilson, 1986;Buckley et al, 1989;Ross et al, 1994). The finding of a high risk associated with construction and transport needs further comment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-contact paternal occupations, infection and childhood leukaemia: five studies of unusual population-mixing of adults

Kinlen

1997

Br J Cancer

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Summary The hypothesis has been tested that, among excesses of childhood leukaemia associated with extreme population-mixing, the incidence is higher for the children of men in occupations involving contact with many individuals (particularly children), as noted in certain childhood infections. Data on childhood leukaemia were examined from five previous studies of the author in which significant excesses had been found associated with population-mixing involving adults. Occupational titles were categorized according to the estimated level of work contacts as medium, high, very high or indeterminate. Occupations involving frequent contact with children were categorized as having a very high contact level given the high frequency of exposure to the infection postulated as underlying childhood leukaemia. There was a significant positive trend (P < 0.001) in childhood leukaemia risk at ages 0-14 years across the occupational contact categories from the reference group (comprising the medium and low plus indeterminate categories) through high to very high (i.e. high-child) contact categories in the combined data from the author's five studies of adult population-mixing; this significant trend also applied at ages 0-4 (P < 0.001) and 5-14 (P < 0.01) years. The excess in the high category was mainly because of paternal occupations connected with the construction industry and transport, suggesting a broader definition of the 'very high' contact category. No sign of these excesses was found in a limited examination of the question outside areas of population-mixing using mortality data for childhood leukaemia in the general population of England and Wales. The findings represent the first individual-based support for infection underlying childhood leukaemia that is promoted by population-mixing, as well as further support for the role of adults in transmission of the infection. Keywords: childhood leukaemia; infection; paternal occupationThe hypothesis of an infective basis in childhood leukaemia is strongly supported by the findings in studies of areas (mainly rural) affected by unusual population-mixing. Such situations would be conducive to mini-epidemics of an underlying infection to which leukaemia is an uncommon response and, in a large series of examples studied, significant excesses of childhood leukaemia have been found (Kinlen, 1988;Kinlen et al, 1990Kinlen et al, , 1993aKinlen et al, , 1995Langford, 1991;Kinlen and John, 1994;Petridou et al, 1996;Stiller and Boyle, 1996;Alexander et al, 1997). These community-based findings make a persuasive case for an infective basis for childhood leukaemia. In the absence of the demonstration of evidence of different exposures to the causative agent (here impossible), other case-control differences would be valuable as additional support, although it may be noted that such evidence is often lacking in illnesses that are known to be uncommon responses to infections. The design of the population-mixing studies necessarily means that data amenable to case-control comparisons ...

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“…Positive associations have been observed in case-control studies between pesticide use in the home or garden and childhood leukemia (6-9) and brain cancer (10,11). Parental occupational exposure to pesticides, determined by occupation from birth certificates or questionnaire, has also been associated with childhood cancer (6,7,(12)(13)(14)(15). Two recent reviews of childhood cancer and pesticides concluded that multiple studies show a modest increased risk, particularly for leukemia and brain cancer, but these studies have been limited by small numbers, nonspecific pesticide information, and potential caseresponse bias (16,17).…”

mentioning

confidence: 93%

Childhood cancer and agricultural pesticide use: an ecologic study in California.

Reynolds

Behren

Gunier

et al. 2002

Environ Health Perspect

105

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We analyzed population-based childhood cancer incidence rates throughout California in relation to agricultural pesticide use. During 1988-1994, a total of 7,143 cases of invasive cancer were diagnosed among children under 15 years of age in California. Building on the availability of high-quality population-based cancer incidence information from the California Cancer Registry, population data from the U.S. Census, and uniquely comprehensive agricultural pesticide use information from California's Department of Pesticide Regulation, we used a geographic information system to assign summary population, exposure, and outcome attributes at the block group level. We used Poisson regression to estimate rate ratios (RRs) by pesticide use density adjusted for race/ethnicity, age, and sex for all types of childhood cancer combined and separately for the leukemias and central nervous system cancers. We generally found no association between pesticide use density and childhood cancer incidence rates. The RR for all cancers was 0.95 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.80-1.13] for block groups in the 90th percentile and above for use of pesticides classified as probable carcinogens, compared to the block groups with use of < 1 lb/mi(2). The RRs were similar for leukemia and central nervous system cancers. Childhood leukemia rates were significantly elevated (RR = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.03-2.13) in block groups with the highest use of propargite, although we saw no dose-response trend with increasing exposure categories. Results were unchanged by further adjustment for socioeconomic status and urbanization.

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Childhood cancer and parental occupation in Finland.

Cited by 106 publications

References 21 publications

Childhood cancer and paternal employment in agriculture: the role of pesticides

Childhood cancer and paternal employment in agriculture: the role of pesticides

High-contact paternal occupations, infection and childhood leukaemia: five studies of unusual population-mixing of adults

Childhood cancer and agricultural pesticide use: an ecologic study in California.

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