Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1995 Sep;103(Suppl 6):111–116. doi: 10.1289/ehp.95103s6111

Assessment of environmental and genetic factors in the etiology of childhood cancers: the Childrens Cancer Group epidemiology program.

L L Robison 1, J D Buckley 1, G Bunin 1
PMCID: PMC1518916  PMID: 8549456

Abstract

The occurrence of cancer during childhood represents one of the leading causes of death within the pediatric and adolescent age group. It is estimated that approximately 8000 children will be diagnosed annually with cancer in the United States. Epidemiologic research addressing the etiology of childhood cancer has been limited because of the difficulties in identifying a sufficiently large study population. Moreover, the use of retrospectively ascertained childhood cancer cases in epidemiologic investigations has restricted the incorporation of biological and clinical parameters. The Childrens Cancer Group has developed an active program in epidemiologic research, with over a decade of experience demonstrating the feasibility and strengths of conducting analytic epidemiologic studies within a cooperative clinical trials network. The availability of detailed clinical and biologic data on cases diagnosed within the cooperative group facilitates the transfer of state-of-the-art technology to epidemiologic research.

Full text

PDF
111

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ambinder R. F., Browning P. J., Lorenzana I., Leventhal B. G., Cosenza H., Mann R. B., MacMahon E. M., Medina R., Cardona V., Grufferman S. Epstein-Barr virus and childhood Hodgkin's disease in Honduras and the United States. Blood. 1993 Jan 15;81(2):462–467. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Birch J. M., Hartley A. L., Marsden H. B., Harris M., Swindell R. Excess risk of breast cancer in the mothers of children with soft tissue sarcomas. Br J Cancer. 1984 Mar;49(3):325–331. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1984.51. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bleyer W. A. What can be learned about childhood cancer from "Cancer statistics review 1973-1988". Cancer. 1993 May 15;71(10 Suppl):3229–3236. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19930515)71:10+<3229::aid-cncr2820711713>3.0.co;2-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Buckley J. D., Buckley C. M., Ruccione K., Sather H. N., Waskerwitz M. J., Woods W. G., Robison L. L. Epidemiological characteristics of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia. Analysis by immunophenotype. The Childrens Cancer Group. Leukemia. 1994 May;8(5):856–864. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Buckley J. D., Gilchrist G. S., Ruccione K., Sather H. N., Woods W. G., Hammond G. D. Multiple sclerosis in mothers of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia. 1989 Oct;3(10):736–739. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Buckley J. D., Robison L. L., Swotinsky R., Garabrant D. H., LeBeau M., Manchester P., Nesbit M. E., Odom L., Peters J. M., Woods W. G. Occupational exposures of parents of children with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia: a report from the Childrens Cancer Study Group. Cancer Res. 1989 Jul 15;49(14):4030–4037. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Buckley J. D., Sather H., Ruccione K., Rogers P. C., Haas J. E., Henderson B. E., Hammond G. D. A case-control study of risk factors for hepatoblastoma. A report from the Childrens Cancer Study Group. Cancer. 1989 Sep 1;64(5):1169–1176. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19890901)64:5<1169::aid-cncr2820640534>3.0.co;2-i. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Bunin G. R., Buckley J. D., Boesel C. P., Rorke L. B., Meadows A. T. Risk factors for astrocytic glioma and primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the brain in young children: a report from the Children's Cancer Group. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1994 Apr-May;3(3):197–204. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Bunin G. R., Emanuel B. S., Meadows A. T., Buckley J. D., Woods W. G., Hammond G. D. Frequency of 13q abnormalities among 203 patients with retinoblastoma. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1989 Mar 1;81(5):370–374. doi: 10.1093/jnci/81.5.370. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Bunin G. R., Kuijten R. R., Buckley J. D., Rorke L. B., Meadows A. T. Relation between maternal diet and subsequent primitive neuroectodermal brain tumors in young children. N Engl J Med. 1993 Aug 19;329(8):536–541. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199308193290804. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Bunin G. R., Meadows A. T., Emanuel B. S., Buckley J. D., Woods W. G., Hammond G. D. Pre- and postconception factors associated with sporadic heritable and nonheritable retinoblastoma. Cancer Res. 1989 Oct 15;49(20):5730–5735. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Bunin G. R., Petrakova A., Meadows A. T., Emanuel B. S., Buckley J. D., Woods W. G., Hammond G. D. Occupations of parents of children with retinoblastoma: a report from the Children's Cancer Study Group. Cancer Res. 1990 Nov 15;50(22):7129–7133. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Friend S. H., Bernards R., Rogelj S., Weinberg R. A., Rapaport J. M., Albert D. M., Dryja T. P. A human DNA segment with properties of the gene that predisposes to retinoblastoma and osteosarcoma. Nature. 1986 Oct 16;323(6089):643–646. doi: 10.1038/323643a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gurney J. G., Davis S., Severson R. K., Robison L. L. The influence of subsequent neoplasms on incidence trends in childhood cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1994 Jun;3(4):349–351. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Knudson A. G., Jr Hereditary cancer, oncogenes, and antioncogenes. Cancer Res. 1985 Apr;45(4):1437–1443. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kuijten R. R., Strom S. S., Rorke L. B., Boesel C. P., Buckley J. D., Meadows A. T., Bunin G. R. Family history of cancer and seizures in young children with brain tumors: a report from the Childrens Cancer Group (United States and Canada). Cancer Causes Control. 1993 Sep;4(5):455–464. doi: 10.1007/BF00050865. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Malkin D., Li F. P., Strong L. C., Fraumeni J. F., Jr, Nelson C. E., Kim D. H., Kassel J., Gryka M. A., Bischoff F. Z., Tainsky M. A. Germ line p53 mutations in a familial syndrome of breast cancer, sarcomas, and other neoplasms. Science. 1990 Nov 30;250(4985):1233–1238. doi: 10.1126/science.1978757. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Maternal smoking during pregnancy and the risk of childhood cancer. Lancet. 1986 Aug 30;2(8505):519–520. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Olshan A. F., Breslow N. E., Daling J. R., Falletta J. M., Grufferman S., Robison L. L., Waskerwitz M., Hammond G. D. Wilms' tumor and paternal occupation. Cancer Res. 1990 Jun 1;50(11):3212–3217. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Olshan A. F., Breslow N. E., Falletta J. M., Grufferman S., Pendergrass T., Robison L. L., Waskerwitz M., Woods W. G., Vietti T. J., Hammond G. D. Risk factors for Wilms tumor. Report from the National Wilms Tumor Study. Cancer. 1993 Aug 1;72(3):938–944. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19930801)72:3<938::aid-cncr2820720345>3.0.co;2-c. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Olshan A. F., Breslow N. E., Falletta J. M., Grufferman S., Pendergrass T., Robison L. L., Waskerwitz M., Woods W. G., Vietti T. J., Hammond G. D. Risk factors for Wilms tumor. Report from the National Wilms Tumor Study. Cancer. 1993 Aug 1;72(3):938–944. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19930801)72:3<938::aid-cncr2820720345>3.0.co;2-c. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Ponder B. Cancer. Gene losses in human tumours. Nature. 1988 Sep 29;335(6189):400–402. doi: 10.1038/335400a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Robison L. L., Buckley J. D., Daigle A. E., Wells R., Benjamin D., Arthur D. C., Hammond G. D. Maternal drug use and risk of childhood nonlymphoblastic leukemia among offspring. An epidemiologic investigation implicating marijuana (a report from the Childrens Cancer Study Group). Cancer. 1989 May 15;63(10):1904–1911. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Robison L. L., Daigle A. Control selection using random digit dialing for cases of childhood cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 1984 Jul;120(1):164–166. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113866. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Ross J. A., Severson R. K., Robison L. L., Pollock B. H., Neglia J. P., Woods W. G., Hammond G. D. Pediatric cancer in the United States. A preliminary report of a collaborative study of the Childrens Cancer Group and the Pediatric Oncology Group. Cancer. 1993 May 15;71(10 Suppl):3415–3421. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19930515)71:10+<3415::aid-cncr2820711747>3.0.co;2-#. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Severson R. K., Buckley J. D., Woods W. G., Benjamin D., Robison L. L. Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption by parents of children with acute myeloid leukemia: an analysis within morphological subgroups--a report from the Childrens Cancer Group. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1993 Sep-Oct;2(5):433–439. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES