title: Residential Pesticide Exposures in Pregnancy and the Risk of Sporadic Retinoblastoma: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether parental pesticide exposure contributes to the development of sporadic retinoblastoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected by a large multicenter study of sporadic retinoblastoma in which parents of 99 unilateral and 56 bilateral age-matched case-control pairs were interviewed by telephone. Retrospective exposure information was collected on the type, location, timing, and frequency of residential pesticide use. We used conditional logistic regression analyses to estimate odds ratios for maternal pesticide exposure in the month before or during pregnancy and to assess whether the type of product, and the circumstances under which it was applied, were associated with risk of disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Unilateral retinoblastoma was associated with parental insecticide use (odds ratio [OR], 2.8; confidence interval [CI], 1.1-6.7) and the use of professional lawn or landscape services (OR, 2.8; CI, 1.0-8.2). For bilateral disease we observed large point estimates for several exposures but the small number of cases rendered these results uninformative (ie, resulted in wide confidence intervals). Whether parents used the pesticide inside vs outside the home did not appear to modify risk estimates for unilateral retinoblastoma (OR, 2.5; CI, 0.9-7.0 vs OR, 2.5; CI, 1.0-6.5), nor did the type, frequency, timing related to pregnancy, or applicator of pesticide used influence estimates to an appreciable degree for disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that parental pesticide exposure before or during pregnancy may play a role in the development of childhood retinoblastoma. Retrospectively collected exposure data introduces the possibility of recall bias; therefore, results should be interpreted cautiously until additional studies are conducted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Negar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Omidakhsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Arupa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ganguly
authors.affiliation: Division of Oncology and Center for Childhood Cancer Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Greta R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Bunin
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Ondine S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: von Ehrenstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ritz
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: jeheck@ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Julia E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Heck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019572:Retinal Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012175:Retinoblastoma / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides