title: Vaccination and the risk of childhood acute leukaemia: the ESCALE study (SFCE).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In 2002, a poster alerted the French health authorities to the possibility that the risk of childhood leukaemia might be increased by hepatitis B vaccination. Elucidating the role of vaccination in the aetiology of childhood acute leukaemia (AL) was therefore included in the objectives of an ongoing national study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ESCALE study was a French national population-based case-control study conducted in France in 2003 and 2004 in order to investigate the role of infectious, environmental and genetic factors in four childhood neoplastic diseases (leukaemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma and brain tumour). The controls were randomly selected from the French population and age and gender frequency matched with the cases. A total of 776 cases of AL (91% of the eligible cases) and 1681 controls (71% of the eligible controls) were included. In a specific standardized telephone interview, which was the same for both the cases and controls, each mother was asked to read out her child's complete vaccination record.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No association between vaccination and the risk of childhood AL: acute lymphoblastic leukaemia or acute myeloblastic leukaemia was observed. No relationship between the risk of leukaemia and the type of vaccine, number of doses of each vaccine, total number of injections, total number of vaccine doses or number of early vaccinations was evidenced. No confounding factor was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study did not show any evidence of a role of vaccination in the aetiology of childhood leukaemia.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U754, IFR69, 16 avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier, F-94807 Villejuif Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mallol-Mesnard
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Menegaux
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Auvrignon
authors.forename: Marie-Françoise
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Auclerc
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nelken
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Geneviève
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Margueritte
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Perel
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Méchinaud
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bordigoni
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leverger
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baruchel
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hémon
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clavel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007938:Leukemia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines