Table 1.
Distribution of case children’s demographic characteristics used as matching variables for control selection, by histopathologic type of childhood brain cancer [n (%)].
| Characteristica | Astrocytoma cases | PNET cases | All other cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 226 (100) | 146 (100) | 154 (100) |
| Race | |||
| White | 198 (87.6) | 131 (89.7) | 126 (81.8) |
| African American | 26 (11.5) | 12 (8.2) | 22 (14.3) |
| Other | 2 (0.9) | 3 (2.1) | 6 (3.9) |
| Birth year | |||
| 1983–1987 | 52 (23.0) | 30 (20.6) | 29 (18.8) |
| 1988–1992 | 138 (61.1) | 78 (53.4) | 86 (55.8) |
| 1993–1997 | 36 (15.9) | 38 (26.0) | 39 (25.3) |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 141 (62.4) | 98 (67.1) | 73 (47.4) |
| Female | 85 (37.6) | 48 (32.9) | 81 (52.6) |
| Resident state at reference age | |||
| Florida | 65 (28.8) | 46 (31.5) | 40 (26.0) |
| New Jersey | 45 (19.9) | 30 (20.6) | 41 (26.6) |
| New York | 55 (24.3) | 32 (21.9) | 27 (17.5) |
| Pennsylvania | 61 (27.0) | 38 (26.0) | 46 (29.9) |
a
One control was selected for each case by matching on sex, birth year ± 1 year, race, and resident state at reference age (i.e., age at case diagnosis). Sex was dropped from the matching criteria for 10 cases to ease the effort to find a matched control.