Parental cigarette smoking and childhood risks of hepatoblastoma: OSCC data

Abstract

Reported cigarette smoking habits for the parents of 43 UK children who died with hepatoblastoma (1953 -55 deaths, 1971 -81 deaths) have been compared with corresponding information for the parents of 5777 healthy control children by means of unconditional logistic regression. Hepatoblastoma risks were doubled if both parents smoked relative to neither parent smoking (RR 2.28, 95% CI 1.02 -5.09).

Perinatal risk factors for hepatoblastoma

“…An excess of maternal pre-eclampsia, without adjustment for VLBW, has been noted (Ansell et al, 2005). Three previous studies have found that maternal smoking significantly raised offspring risk (Pang et al, 2003;Sorahan and Lancashire, 2004;McLaughlin et al, 2006), whereas a fourth did not (Buckley et al, 1989); associations remained after adjustment for VLBW in two studies (Pang et al, 2003;Spector and Ross, 2003;McLaughlin et al, 2006). Lastly, a ninefold increased risk of hepatoblastoma was reported among children born following infertility treatment, which was independent of birth weight (McLaughlin et al, 2006).…”

Secondhand Tobacco Smoke

“…The association with parental smoking was strongest (relative to neither parent smoking) when both parents smoked (OR,4.74;, P = 0.003). Sorahan & Lancashire (2004) found no increased risk associated with maternal or paternal smoking alone compared to nonsmokers, in both adjusted and unadjusted analyses. In contrast, parental smoking (paternal and maternal smoking combined) was strongly and consistently associated with an increased risk for hepatoblastoma in both adjusted and unadjusted analyses.…”

“…Also, hepatoblastomas, like many other embryonal tumours, are associated with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and hemihypertrophy, further suggesting a gestational oncogenic event (DeBaun & Tucker, 1998). Data were available for both maternal and paternal exposures from two studies Sorahan & Lancashire, 2004) while two other studies (McLaughlin et al, 2006;Pu et al, 2009) were limited to data on maternal smoking, available from birth certificates and medical records, respectively (Table 2.28). Most of these studies had limited sample sizes given the extreme rarity of these tumours.…”

“…In the most recent report from the Oxford Survey of Childhood Cancers (OSCC), the risk of death from all childhood cancers combined was not associated with maternal smoking, but was consistently associated with paternal smoking alone or in combination with maternal smoking, in both adjusted and unadjusted analyses [Ex-smokers of more than 2 years before birth of the survey child were assimilated to nonsmokers] (Sorahan & Lancashire, 2004).…”

“…In addition to the four cohort and 10 casecontrol studies reviewed by IARC (2004), three case-control studies have examined the role of second-hand tobacco smoke in relation to risk for all childhood cancers combined (Sorahan et al, 2001;Sorahan & Lancashire, 2004; Table 2.21 available at http://monographs. iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol100E/100E-02-Table2.21.pdf).…”