Birth characteristics and childhood carcinomas

Background: Carcinomas in children are rare and have not been well studied. Methods: We conducted a population-based case–control study and examined associations between birth characteristics and childhood carcinomas diagnosed from 28 days to 14 years during 1980–2004 using pooled data from five states (NY, WA, MN, TX, and CA) that linked their birth and cancer registries. The pooled data set contained 57 966 controls and 475 carcinoma cases, including 159 thyroid and 126 malignant melanoma cases. We used unconditional logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: White compared with ‘other' race was positively associated with melanoma (OR=3.22, 95% CI 1.33–8.33). Older maternal age increased the risk for melanoma (ORper 5-year age increase=1.20, 95% CI 1.00–1.44), whereas paternal age increased the risk for any carcinoma (OR=1.10per 5-year age increase, 95% CI 1.01–1.20) and thyroid carcinoma (ORper 5-year age increase=1.16, 95% CI 1.01–1.33). Gestational age