Chromosomal abnormalities among offspring of childhood-cancer survivors in Denmark: a population-based study.
Ionizing radiation and many cancer drugs have the potential to produce germ-cell mutations that might lead to genetic disease in the next generation. In a population-based study, we identified, from records in the Danish Cancer Registry, 4,676 children treated for cancer. Their 6,441 siblings provided a comparison cohort. The results of a search of the Central Population Register identified 2,630 live-born offspring of the survivors and 5,504 live-born offspring of their siblings. The occurrence of abnormal karyotypes diagnosed in these offspring and also in any pregnancies terminated following prenatal diagnosis of a chromosome abnormality was determined from the Danish Cytogenetic Registry. After exclusion of hereditary cases and inclusion of the prenatal cases, after correction for expected viability, the adjusted proportion of live-born children in survivor families with abnormal karyotypes (5.5/2,631.5 [0.21%]) was the same as that among the comparison sibling families (11.8/5,505.8 [0.21%]). There were no significant differences in the occurrence of Down syndrome (relative risk [RR]=1.07; 95% CI 0.16-5.47) or Turner syndrome (RR=1.32; 95% CI 0.17-7.96) among the children of cancer survivors, compared with the children of their siblings. These reassuring results are of importance to the survivors, to their families, and to genetic counselors.
Winther
Jeanette Falck
JF
Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. jeanette@cancer.dk
Boice
John D
JD
Mulvihill
John J
JJ
Stovall
Marilyn
M
Frederiksen
Kirsten
K
Tawn
E Janet
EJ
Olsen
Jorgen H
JH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D017741:Survivors; D014424:Turner Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics