Family history of hematopoietic and other cancers in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
It has been difficult to show a genetic contribution for many cancers, resulting in the belief that rare cancers such as leukemia are sporadic. We carried out a population-based case-control study including 701 incident cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) aged 0-14 years and diagnosed between 1980 and 1998 in Québec (Canada); 701 healthy controls were matched on age and sex. Cancer family history in the child's relatives was reported by parents. A positive family history of hematopoietic malignancies among first- or second-degree relatives was associated with a slight increase of risk for childhood ALL (odds ratio 2.06; 95% confidence interval=1.22-3.49); the excess was attributable to second-degree relatives, and observed for grandparents as well as for uncles/aunts. The risk of ALL was not increased in children with a family history of cancers other than hematopoietic cancers. The data suggest a modest familial contribution to childhood ALL.
Infante-Rivard
Claire
C
Joint Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 1130 Pine Avenue West, Montréal, Qué., Canada H3A 1A3. claire.infante-rivard@mcgill.ca
Guiguet
Marguerite
M
D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D011792:Quebec