title: Chromosomal abnormalities among offspring of childhood-cancer survivors in Denmark: a population-based study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. jeanette@cancer.dk
authors.forename: Jeanette Falck
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Winther
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Boice
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mulvihill
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stovall
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Frederiksen
authors.forename: E Janet
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Tawn
authors.forename: Jorgen H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Olsen
mesh_terms: 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