BACKGROUND: Breast-feeding is well known to have a protective effect against infection in infants. Although the long-term effects of breast-feeding on childhood cancer have not been studied extensively, a protective effect against childhood Hodgkin's disease and lymphoma has been suggested previously from small investigations. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that breast-feeding decreases the risk of childhood acute leukemia. METHODS: A total of 1744 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 1879 matched control subjects, aged 1-14 years, and 456 children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 539 matched control subjects, aged 1-17 years, were included in the analysis. Information regarding breast-feeding was obtained through telephone interviews with mothers. All leukemias combined, histologic type of leukemia (ALL versus AML), immunophenotype of ALL (early pre-B cell, pre-B cell, or T cell), and morphology of AML were assessed separately in the data analysis. RESULTS: Ever having breast-fed was found to be associated with a 21% reduction in risk of childhood acute leukemias (odds ratio [OR] for all types combined = 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.70-0.91). A reduction in risk was seen separately for AML (OR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.57-1.03) and ALL (OR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.69-0.93). The inverse associations were stronger with longer duration of breast-feeding for total ALL and AML; for M0, M1, and M2 morphologic subtypes of AML; and for early pre-B-cell ALL. CONCLUSION: In this study, breast-feeding was associated with a reduced risk of childhood acute leukemia. If confirmed in additional epidemiologic studies, our findings suggest that future epidemiologic and experimental efforts should be directed at investigating the anti-infective and/or immune-stimulatory or immune-modulating effects of breast-feeding on leukemogenesis in children.
BACKGROUND: Breast-feeding is well known to have a protective effect against infection in infants. Although the long-term effects of breast-feeding on childhood cancer have not been studied extensively, a protective effect against childhood Hodgkin's disease and lymphoma has been suggested previously from small investigations. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that breast-feeding decreases the risk of childhood acute leukemia. METHODS: A total of 1744 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 1879 matched control subjects, aged 1-14 years, and 456 children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 539 matched control subjects, aged 1-17 years, were included in the analysis. Information regarding breast-feeding was obtained through telephone interviews with mothers. All leukemias combined, histologic type of leukemia (ALL versus AML), immunophenotype of ALL (early pre-B cell, pre-B cell, or T cell), and morphology of AML were assessed separately in the data analysis. RESULTS: Ever having breast-fed was found to be associated with a 21% reduction in risk of childhood acute leukemias (odds ratio [OR] for all types combined = 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.70-0.91). A reduction in risk was seen separately for AML (OR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.57-1.03) and ALL (OR = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.69-0.93). The inverse associations were stronger with longer duration of breast-feeding for total ALL and AML; for M0, M1, and M2 morphologic subtypes of AML; and for early pre-B-cell ALL. CONCLUSION: In this study, breast-feeding was associated with a reduced risk of childhood acute leukemia. If confirmed in additional epidemiologic studies, our findings suggest that future epidemiologic and experimental efforts should be directed at investigating the anti-infective and/or immune-stimulatory or immune-modulating effects of breast-feeding on leukemogenesis in children.
Authors: Juan A Ortega-García; Josep Ferrís-Tortajada; Alberto M Torres-Cantero; Offie P Soldin; Encarna Pastor Torres; Jose L Fuster-Soler; Blanca Lopez-Ibor; Luis Madero-López Journal: J Paediatr Child Health Date: 2007-11-12 Impact factor: 1.954
Authors: Jérémie Rudant; Tracy Lightfoot; Kevin Y Urayama; Eleni Petridou; John D Dockerty; Corrado Magnani; Elizabeth Milne; Logan G Spector; Lesley J Ashton; Nikolaos Dessypris; Alice Y Kang; Margaret Miller; Roberto Rondelli; Jill Simpson; Eftichia Stiakaki; Laurent Orsi; Eve Roman; Catherine Metayer; Claire Infante-Rivard; Jacqueline Clavel Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 2015-03-01 Impact factor: 4.897
Authors: Lindsay A Williams; Jun J Yang; Betsy A Hirsch; Erin L Marcotte; Logan G Spector Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 2019-02-15 Impact factor: 4.254
Authors: Lauren M Petrick; Courtney Schiffman; William M B Edmands; Yukiko Yano; Kelsi Perttula; Todd Whitehead; Catherine Metayer; Craig E Wheelock; Manish Arora; Hasmik Grigoryan; Henrik Carlsson; Sandrine Dudoit; Stephen M Rappaport Journal: Cancer Lett Date: 2019-03-20 Impact factor: 8.679
Authors: Florence Menegaux; Andrew F Olshan; Joseph P Neglia; Brad H Pollock; Melissa L Bondy Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 2004-05-01 Impact factor: 4.897