Epidemiology and Risk Factors

Abstract

Parental occupations and childhood brain tumors: results of an international case–control study

Sylvaine Cordier¹, Laurence Mandereau¹, Susan Preston-Martin², Julian Little³, Flora Lubin⁴, Beth Mueller⁵, Elisabeth Holly⁶, Graziella Filippini⁷, Rafael Peris-Bonet⁸, Margaret McCredie⁹, N. W. Choi¹⁰, Annie Arslan¹¹

¹INSERM, Villejuif, France; ²University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA; ³University of Aberdeen Medical School, Aberdeen, Scotland; ⁴Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel; ⁵ Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA; ⁶University of California, San Francisco, USA; ⁷Istituto Neurologico C Besta, Milan, Italy; ⁸IEDHC (CSIC-Universitat de Valencia), Valencia, Spain; ⁹New South Wales Cancer Council, Sydney, Australia; ¹⁰Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, Winnipeg, Canada (deceased); ¹¹International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.

Objective. To evaluate the role of parental occupations in the etiology of childhood brain tumors (CBT).

Methods. Population-based case–control studies were conducted concurrently in seven countries under the coordination of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, gathering 1218 cases and 2223 controls. 
We report here the findings related to parental occupations during the 5-year period before the child's birth. 
Risk estimates related to a number of paternal and maternal occupations were obtained by unconditional logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, year of birth, and center, for all types of CBT combined and for the subgroups of astroglial, primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET), and other glial tumors.

Results. An increased risk in relation with agricultural work was seen for all CBT combined and for other glial tumors. 
Increased risks for all tumors and PNET were seen for paternal occupation as an electrician; the same pattern held for maternal occupation when children under 5 were selected. 
Paternal occupation as a driver or mechanic, and maternal work in an environment related to motor-vehicles were associated with an increased risk for all CBT and astroglial tumors. 
More case mothers compared to control mothers were employed in the textile industry.

Conclusion. Our study reinforces previous findings relative to the role of parental work in agriculture, electricity, or motor-vehicle related occupations and maternal work in the textile industry. 
It does not confirm previous associations with work environments including aerospace, the chemical industry, or the food industry, or with maternal occupation as a hairdresser, a nurse, or a sewing machinist, and paternal occupation as a welder.

Keywords: brain neoplasms, child, parental occupation

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