title: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in residential dust and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
abstract: Several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known or probable human carcinogens. We evaluated the relationship between PAH exposure and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using concentrations in residential dust as an exposure indicator. We conducted a population-based case-control study (251 ALL cases, 306 birth-certificate controls) in Northern and Central California from 2001 to 2007. We collected residential dust using a high volume small surface sampler (HVS3) (n=185 cases, 212 controls) or by sampling from participants' household vacuum cleaners (n=66 cases, 94 controls). We evaluated log-transformed concentrations of 9 individual PAHs, the summed PAHs, and the summed PAHs weighted by their carcinogenic potency (the toxic equivalence). We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using logistic regression adjusting for demographic characteristics and duration between diagnosis/reference date and dust collection. Among participants with HVS3 dust, risk of ALL was not associated with increasing concentration of any PAHs based on OR perln(ng/g). Among participants with vacuum dust, we observed positive associations between ALL risk and increasing concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (OR perln[ng/g]=1.42, 95% CI=0.95, 2.12), dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (OR=1.98, 95% CI=1.11, 3.55), benzo[k]fluoranthene (OR=1.71, 95% CI=0.91, 3.22), indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (OR=1.81, 95% CI=1.04, 3.16), and the toxic equivalence (OR=2.35, 95% CI=1.18, 4.69). The increased ALL risk among participants with vacuum dust suggests that PAH exposure may increase the risk of childhood ALL; however, reasons for the different results based on HVS3 dust samples deserve further study.
authors.affiliation: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: nicole.deziel@yale.edu.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Deziel
authors.affiliation: School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Rull
authors.affiliation: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Colt
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention Institute of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Whitehead
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Gunier
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Month
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara, CA, USA.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Taggart
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Buffler
authors.affiliation: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Metayer
mesh_terms: D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Childhood leukemia; Dust; Environmental epidemiology; Environmental exposures; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons