Childhood cancer and parental use of tobacco: deaths from 1953 to 1955

Abstract

Summary Parental smoking data have been abstracted from the interview records of the case-control study that first indicated that pregnancy radiographs are a cause of childhood cancer (Oxford Survey of Childhood Cancers, deaths from 1953 to 1955). Reported smoking habits for the parents of 1549 children who died from cancer were compared with similar information for the parents of 1549 healthy controls (matched pairs analysis). There was a statistically significant positive trend between paternal daily consumption of tobacco and the risk of childhood cancer (P < 0.001). This association could not be explained by maternal smoking, social class, paternal or maternal age at the birth of the survey child, sibship position or obstetric radiography. About 15% of all childhood cancers in this series could be attributable to paternal smoking.Keywords: childhood cancer; smoking; case-control study A recent review of the published literature on childhood cancer risks and parental use of tobacco concluded that 'the associations between maternal smoking during pregnancy and childhood cancer have been studied intensively, but there is no clear association overall, or for specific sites' (Tredaniel et al, 1994). The review also summarized information on paternal smoking from 13 case-control studies. Many of these studies were small in size and a total of only 1953 childhood cancers (varying diagnostic groups) formed the combined case series. The review concluded that no clear associations have been identified'.A further four case-control study reports (additional combined series of 2772 cases) are now available, which include information on paternal smoking and childhood cancer risks (Severson et al, 1993;Shu et al, 1994Shu et al, , 1996Sorahan et al, 1995). No association was found with maternal smoking in any of these reports but, in three of them, positive associations were found for paternal smoking (Shu et al, 1994Sorahan et al, 1995). In the largest of these studies, reported consumptions of alcohol and tobacco for the parents of 1641 children who died from cancer in England and Wales during the period 1977-81 were compared with similar information for the parents of 1641 healthy control children (Sorahan et al, 1995). These data were obtained from the interview records of the Oxford Survey of Childhood Cancers (OSCC) and relations between maternal consumption of cigarettes and birth weights indicated that the (maternal) smoking data were equally reliable for case and control parents. For mothers, consumption of cigarettes was not shown to be associated with an increased risk of childhood cancer, whereas there was a statistically significant positive trend (P < 0.001) between daily consumption of cigarettes by fathers and childhood cancer risks. Earlier OSCC data have, therefore, been revisited to seek further information on this topic.

Parental smoking and childhood cancer: results from the United Kingdom Childhood Cancer Study

“…There are no statistically significant trends with increasing number of cigarettes smoked. Failure to replicate the findings of two nationwide and multiregional case -control studies in the UK (Sorahan et al, 1995(Sorahan et al, , 1997a(Sorahan et al, , b, 2001, which found significant associations with paternal preconception smoking, may be due, in part, to a higher smoking prevalence, and a larger proportion of heavy smokers in those earlier studies. More importantly, perhaps, the present study is more likely to be subject to reporting bias because of increased public awareness of adverse effects of smoking and blinding parents with respect to the study hypothesis regarding smoking was impracticable.…”

“…It is noteworthy that the analyses of data on children dying of cancer between 1953 and 1976, which showed significant trends with paternal smoking, showed no significant association with maternal smoking after allowing for paternal smoking (Sorahan et al, 1995(Sorahan et al, , 1997a. In these earlier studies the reliability of selfreported smoking in mothers was suggested by analyses of birth weights, which showed lower birth weights in children of smoking mothers.…”

“…Previous case -control studies have tended to show weak associations between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and childhood cancers (IARC, 1986;Severson et al, 1993;Tredaniel et al, 1994;Sorahan et al, 1995Sorahan et al, , 1997aSorahan et al, , b, 2001Klebanoff et al, 1996;Shu et al, 1996). There is somewhat stronger and more consistent evidence for a paternal preconceptional effect, although relative risks in most case -control studies are only just above one (Severson et al, 1993;Shu et al, 1996;Ji et al, 1997;Sorahan et al, 1997b;.…”

“…Many proven carcinogens are present in tobacco and tobacco smoke (Hecht, 1999;Hoffmann and Hoffmann, 1997). Tobacco-related compounds have also been detected in human placenta, fetal blood, urine of offspring and in breast milk of smoking mothers (Perlman and Dannenberg, 1942;Everson et al, 1986Everson et al, , 1988Woodward et al, 1986;Hansen et al, 1992;Myers et al, 1996;Pinorini-Godly and Myers, 1996;Arnould et al, 1997;Daube et al, 1997).Previous case -control studies have tended to show weak associations between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and childhood cancers (IARC, 1986;Severson et al, 1993;Tredaniel et al, 1994;Sorahan et al, 1995Sorahan et al, , 1997a Sorahan et al, , b, 2001Klebanoff et al, 1996;Shu et al, 1996). There is somewhat stronger and more consistent evidence for a paternal preconceptional effect, although relative risks in most case -control studies are only just above one (Severson et al, 1993;Shu et al, 1996;Ji et al, 1997;Sorahan et al, 1997b;.…”

Parental cigarette smoking and childhood risks of hepatoblastoma: OSCC data

“…Data on parental cigarette smoking were not collected for all years of the study, but sought for 1953 -55 deaths, 1971 -76 deaths and 1977 -81 deaths (and matched controls). The survey and the information available on smoking histories have been described previously (Stewart et al, 1958;Gilman et al, 1988;Sorahan et al 1995Sorahan et al , 1997a.…”