Road Traffic and Childhood Leukemia: The ESCALE Study (SFCE)

Abstract

BackgroundTraffic is a source of environmental exposures, including benzene, which may be related to childhood leukemia.ObjectivesA national registry–based case–control study [ESCALE (Etude Sur les Cancers et les Leucémies de l’Enfant, Study on Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors of Childhood Cancers and Leukemia)] carried out in France was used to assess the effect of exposure to road traffic exhaust fumes on the risk of childhood leukemia.MethodsOver the study period, 2003–2004, 763 cases and 1,681 controls < 15 years old were included, and the controls were frequency matched with the cases on age and sex. The ESCALE data were collected by a standardized telephone interview of the mothers. Various indicators of exposure to traffic and pollution were determined using the geocoded addresses at the time of diagnosis for the cases and of interview for the controls. Indicators of the distance from, and density of, main roads and traffic nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations derived from traffic emission data were used. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated using unconditional regression models adjusted for potential confounders.ResultsAcute leukemia (AL) was significantly associated with estimates of traffic NO2 concentration at the place of residence > 27.7 μg/m3 compared with NO2 concentration < 21.9 μg/m3 [OR = 1.2; confidence interval (CI), 1.0–1.5] and with the presence of a heavy-traffic road within 500 m compared with the absence of a heavy-traffic road in the same area (OR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.0–3.6). There was a significant association between AL and a high density of heavy-traffic roads within 500 m compared with the reference category with no heavy-traffic road within 500 m (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.1–4.2), with a significant positive linear trend of the association of AL with the total length of heavy-traffic road within 500m.ConclusionThis study supports the hypothesis that living close to heavy-traffic roads may increase the risk of childhood leukemia.

Childhood cancer and residential exposure to highways: a nationwide cohort study

“…Our study in the context of previous studies 12 Our results are consistent with the findings of some but not all previous studies of childhood cancer and residence in the proximity to highly trafficked roads [9,[24][25][26][27][28]. The largest of these studies, based on over 700 cases of ALL, found a doubling of the risk among children living within 500 m of high-speed highways and main roads compared to unexposed children [9].…”

“…The largest of these studies, based on over 700 cases of ALL, found a doubling of the risk among children living within 500 m of high-speed highways and main roads compared to unexposed children [9]. Other studies using proximity measures found little support for an association with leukaemia risk [12,[29][30][31][32].…”

“…Most studies investigating exposure to specific traffic related pollutants support an association with childhood leukaemia [9][10][11][12][33][34][35][36][37]]. An ecological study from Texas [35] and a recent case-control study from California [37] found increased risks of childhood leukaemia associated with elevated air concentrations of benzene.…”

“…Several studies have investigated whether traffic related pollution is associated with an increased risk of childhood cancer [7][8][9][10][11][12]. The focus has been on leukaemia, and specifically acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), and tumours of the central nervous system (CNS).…”

Câncer e poluição do ar relacionada ao tráfego veicular no município de São Paulo: análise espacial em pequenas áreas

“…Há estudos também que relataram associação estatisticamente significante entre proximidade residencial com áreas de alta intensidade de tráfego e ocorrência de cânceres do sistema hematológico (Boothe and Shendell 2008;Amigou et al 2011;Spycher et al 2015).…”