Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Preventinon: Parental tobacco and alcohol use and risk of hepatoblastoma in offspring: a report from the children’s oncology group
Abstract
- Background: Hepatoblastoma is a rare pediatric liver tumor that has significantly increased in incidence over the last several decades. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently classified hepatoblastoma as tobacco-related cancer. Parental alcohol use has shown no association. We examined associations between parental tobacco and alcohol use around the time of pregnancy and hepatoblastoma in a large case-control study.
- Methods: Maternal interviews were completed for 383 cases diagnosed in the United States during 2000-2008. Controls (n = 387) were identified through U.S. birth registries and frequency-matched to cases on birth weight, birth year, and region of residence. We used unconditional logistic regression to calculate ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between parental smoking and maternal drinking and offspring hepatoblastoma.
- Results: We found no association between hepatoblastoma and maternal smoking at any time (OR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.7-1.4), within the year before pregnancy (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.8-1.6), early in pregnancy (OR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.7-1.6), or throughout pregnancy (OR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.5-1.6). We observed marginally positive associations between hepatoblastoma and paternal smoking in the year before pregnancy (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.0-2.0) and during pregnancy (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.9-2.0). Maternal alcohol use was not associated with hepatoblastoma.
- Conclusion: Our results do not provide evidence for an etiologic relationship between maternal smoking or drinking and hepatoblastoma, and only weak evidence for an association for paternal smoking in the year before pregnancy.
- Impact: Our study provides limited support for hepatoblastoma as tobacco-related cancer; however, it remains wise to counsel prospective parents on the merits of smoking cessation.
Since 2004, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute’s (Greehey CCRI) mission has been to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer, contribute to understanding its causes, and accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Greehey CCRI strives to have a national and global impact on childhood cancer by discovering, developing, and disseminating new scientific knowledge. Our mission consists of three key areas — research, clinical, and education.
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