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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Marilyn L. Kwan, MS, Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 2150 Shattuck Ave. Suite 500, Berkeley, CA 94720-7380, 510-643-3959, marilynkwan@hotmail.com and Patricia A. Buffler, PhD, Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study, School of Public Heatlh, University of California, Berkeley, 2150 Shattuck Ave, Suite 500, Berkeley, CA 94720-7380.
Leukemia is the leading cause of childhood cancer morbidity in the United States. Risk factors include ionizing radiation, certain chemicals, and specific genetic syndromes. The cause of childhood leukemia, specifically acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), has been hypothesized to be the result of a rare, abnormal response to a common infection. Therefore, it has been suggested that breast-feeding plays a protective role in childhood leukemia by mediating this infectious response. A population-based case-control study was conducted by the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study (NCCLS) with 140 cases and controls of ALL matched on date of birth, sex, maternal race, maternal “Hispanicity,” and county of residence at birth. Breast-feeding data were obtained by self-administered questionnaire and in-home interviews. The first part of the analysis was modeled after Shu et al.’s 1999 Children’s Cancer Group (CCG) study. The second part of the analysis focused on duration and exclusivity of breast-feeding and risk of childhood ALL in the NCCLS data only. Duration of breast-feeding, using the Shu et al. model, was associated with a non-significant, lower risk of ALL for yes/no breast-fed (OR=0.96; 95% CI=0.48-1.92) while the NCCLS data only showed a non-significant, higher risk of ALL for yes/no breast-fed (OR=1.16; 95% CI=0.58-2.33) as well as a non-significant, lower risk of ALL for breast-feeding exclusively >=13 months (OR=0.81; 95% CI=0.24-2.79). This study provided limited support to the hypothesis that breast-feeding mediates the occurrence of childhood ALL and suggests future research with unbiased control selection, adequate sample size, and proper control for potential confounders.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Cancer, Breast Feeding
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.