title: Maternal immunoglobulin E and childhood leukemia.
abstract: Childhood leukemia, particularly acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), has long been hypothesized to be affected by abnormal immune responses to microbial challenges stemming from a lack of immune modulation in early childhood. Studies of allergies suggest that a child's immune development may be modulated by maternal immune status. We conducted a study to explore the relationship between maternal immunoglobulin E (IgE) and childhood leukemia and to investigate whether maternal immune status can influence childhood leukemia risk. Serum total and specific IgE (respiratory and food) were measured in biological mothers of 352 children (193 healthy controls and 159 leukemia cases, including 139 ALL cases) ages <8 years who were enrolled in the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study. Odds ratios associated with maternal IgE were calculated using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for child's age, sex, race/ethnicity, and annual household income. A positive association between childhood leukemia or ALL and elevated levels of maternal serum total IgE was observed, especially among Hispanics. In addition, a positive association was observed between childhood leukemia or ALL and maternal respiratory or food IgE status. These results suggest that maternal immune function may play a crucial role in the etiology of childhood leukemia, although additional studies need to be conducted to confirm the results of this study and provide a perspective on mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-1215, USA. c_jeffrey@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Buffler
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Metayer
authors.forename: Anand P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Chokkalingam
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patoka
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kronish
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wiemels
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D007938:Leukemia / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000276:immunology*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E