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Background: Carcinomas in children are rare and have not been well studied., Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study and examined associations between birth characteristics and childhood carcinomas diagnosed from 28 days to 14 years during 1980-2004 using pooled data from five states (NY, WA, MN, TX, and CA) that linked their birth and cancer registries. The pooled data set contained 57,966 controls and 475 carcinoma cases, including 159 thyroid and 126 malignant melanoma cases. We used unconditional logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: White compared with 'other' race was positively associated with melanoma (OR=3.22, 95% CI 1.33-8.33). Older maternal age increased the risk for melanoma (OR(per 5-year age increase)=1.20, 95% CI 1.00-1.44), whereas paternal age increased the risk for any carcinoma (OR=1.10(per 5-year age increase), 95% CI 1.01-1.20) and thyroid carcinoma (OR(per 5-year age increase)=1.16, 95% CI 1.01-1.33). Gestational age < 37 vs 37-42 weeks increased the risk for thyroid carcinoma (OR=1.87, 95% CI 1.07-3.27). Plurality, birth weight, and birth order were not significantly associated with childhood carcinomas., Conclusion: This exploratory study indicates that some birth characteristics including older parental age and low gestational age may be related to childhood carcinoma aetiology.

Background: Congenital anomalies have been found more often in children with cancer than in those without. Rib abnormalities (RAs) have been associated with childhood cancer; however, studies have differed in the type of RAs and cancers implicated., Methods: Rib abnormalities were assessed predominantly by X-ray in a hospital-based case-control study., Results: There was a significant difference in the number of cases vs controls with RAs after controlling for age and sex, specifically for acute myelogenous leukaemia, renal tumours, and hepatoblastoma., Conclusion: The results of this study support previous reports that there is an association of rib anomalies with childhood cancer.

Background: Infant leukaemia is likely initiated in utero., Methods: We examined whether analgesic use during pregnancy was associated with risk by completing telephone interviews of the mothers of 441 infant leukaemia cases and 323 frequency-matched controls, using unconditional logistic regression., Results: With the exception of a reduced risk for infant acute myeloid leukaemias with non-aspirin non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) use early in pregnancy (odds ratios=0.60; confidence intervals: 0.37-0.97), no statistically significant associations were observed for aspirin, non-aspirin NSAIDs, or acetaminophen use in early pregnancy or after knowledge of pregnancy., Conclusion: Overall, analgesic use during pregnancy was not significantly associated with the risk of infant leukaemia.

Background: There is increasing interest in the possible association between cancer incidence and vitamin D through its role as a regulator of cell growth and differentiation. Epidemiological studies in adults and one paediatric study suggest an inverse association between sunlight exposure and cancer incidence., Methods: We carried out an ecological study using childhood cancer registry data and two population-level surrogates of sunlight exposure, (1) latitude of the registry city or population centroid of the registry nation and (2) annual solar radiation. All models were adjusted for nation-level socioeconomic status using socioeconomic indicators., Results: Latitude and radiation were significantly associated with cancer incidence, and the direction of association was consistent between the surrogates. Findings were not consistent across tumour types., Conclusion: Our ecological study offers some evidence to support an association between sunlight exposure and risk of childhood cancer.

Background: Little has been reported on socioeconomic (SES) patterns of risk for most forms of childhood cancer., Methods: Population-based case-control data from epidemiological studies of childhood cancer conducted in five US states were pooled and associations of maternal, paternal and household educational attainment with childhood cancers were analysed. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using logistic regression, controlling for confounders., Results: Although there was no association with parental education for the majority of cancers evaluated, there was an indication of a positive association with lower education for Hodgkin's and Burkitt's lymphoma and Wilm's tumour, with the ORs ranging from 1.5 to >3.0 times that of more educated parents. A possible protective effect was seen for lower parental education and astrocytoma and hepatoblastoma, with ORs reduced by 30 to 40%., Conclusions: These study results should be viewed as exploratory because of the broad nature of the SES assessment, but they give some indication that childhood cancer studies might benefit from a more thorough assessment of SES.

We examined the risk of childhood cancer (<20 years) among 105 950 offspring born in 1921-1984 to US radiologic technologist (USRT) cohort members. Parental occupational in utero and preconception ionising radiation (IR) testis or ovary doses were estimated from work history data, badge dose data, and literature doses (the latter doses before 1960). Female and male RTs reported a total of 111 and 34 haematopoietic malignancies and 115 and 34 solid tumours, respectively, in their offspring. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Leukaemia (n=63) and solid tumours (n=115) in offspring were not associated with maternal in utero or preconception radiation exposure. Risks for lymphoma (n=44) in those with estimated doses of <0.2, 0.2-1.0, and >1.0 mGy vs no exposure were non-significantly elevated with HRs of 2.3, 1.8, and 2.7. Paternal preconception exposure to estimated cumulative doses above the 95th percentile (82 mGy, n=6 cases) was associated with a non-significant risk of childhood cancer of 1.8 (95% CI 0.7-4.6). In conclusion, we found no convincing evidence of an increased risk of childhood cancer in the offspring of RTs in association with parental occupational radiation exposure.

We confirmed the strong association of hepatoblastoma with very low birth weight (relative risk <1000 g vs >or=2000 g=25.6; 95% confidence interval: 7.70-85.0) and demonstrated independent associations with congenital abnormalities and maternal Asian race in a population-based Minnesota study that included 36 cases and 7788 controls.

In contrast to the positive association found in three studies between maternal anaemia during pregnancy and childhood leukaemia, no such association was found in infant leukaemia (odds ratio 0.85, 95% confidence interval 0.53-1.37).

Children with Down syndrome (DS) are highly susceptible to acute leukaemia. Given the potential role of infections in the aetiology of leukaemia in children without DS, we investigated whether there was an association between early-life infections and acute leukaemia in children with DS. Maternal infections during pregnancy were also examined. We enrolled 158 incident cases of acute leukaemia in children with DS (97 acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and 61 acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)) diagnosed at Children's Oncology Group institutions between 1997 and 2002. DS controls (N=173) were selected from the cases' primary care clinics and frequency matched on age at leukaemia diagnosis. Data were collected on demographics, child's medical history, mother's medical history, and other factors by maternal interview. Analyses were conducted using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders. A significant negative association was observed between acute leukaemia and any infection in the first 2 years of life (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.33-0.92); OR=0.53, 95% CI (0.29-0.97); and OR=0.59, 95% CI (0.28-1.25) for acute leukaemia combined, ALL, and AML respectively). The association between acute leukaemia and maternal infections during pregnancy was in the same direction but not significant. This study offers support for the hypothesis that early-life infections may play a protective role in the aetiology of acute leukaemia in children with DS.