ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Acute childhood leukaemia and environmental exposure to potential sources of benzene and other hydrocarbons; a case-control study

C Steffen¹, M F Auclerc², A Auvrignon³, A Baruchel², K Kebaili⁴, A Lambilliotte⁵, G Leverger³, D Sommelet⁶, E Vilmer⁷, D Hémon¹, J Clavel¹

¹ French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, INSERM U170, Villejuif, France
² Department of Pediatric Hematology, Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris, France
³ Department of Pediatric Hematology, Armand Trousseau Hospital, Paris, France
⁴ Department of Pediatric Hematology, Debrousse Hospital, Lyon, France
⁵ Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Jeanne de Flandre Hospital, Lille, France
⁶ Department of Pediatric Hematology, Brabois Hospital, Nancy, France
⁷ Department of Pediatric Hematology-Immunology, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr J Clavel
Inserm U170, 16 avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier, 94807 Villejuif cedex, France; clavel{at}vjf.inserm.fr

Aim: To analyse the association between potential environmental exposure to hydrocarbons and the risk of acute childhood leukaemia.

Methods: A hospital based multicentre case control study, stratified on centre, age, and sex, with 280 leukaemia cases and 285 controls was carried out. Data were collected by a standardised interview of the mothers.

Results: No clear association was seen between maternal occupational exposure to hydrocarbons during pregnancy and leukaemia, or between residential traffic density and leukaemia. There was an association between dwellings neighbouring a petrol station or a repair garage during childhood and the risk of childhood leukaemia (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.5 to 10.3), with a duration trend. The association, which appeared particularly strong for acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia (OR 7.7, 95% CI 1.7 to 34.3), was not altered by adjustment for potential confounding factors.

Conclusions: Results showed an association between acute childhood leukaemia and dwellings neighbouring auto repair garages and petrol stations, which are benzene emitting sources. These findings could be due to chance, although the strength of the association and the duration trend are arguments for a causal association.

Abbreviations: AL, acute leukaemia; ALL, acute lymphocytic leukaemia; ANLL, acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia

Keywords: leukaemia; childhood; environment; epidemiology; hydrocarbons

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Work in brief

Dana Loomis
Occup. Environ. Med. 2004 61: 727. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Brosselin, P, Rudant, J, Orsi, L, Leverger, G, Baruchel, A, Bertrand, Y, Nelken, B, Robert, A, Michel, G, Margueritte, G, Perel, Y, Mechinaud, F, Bordigoni, P, Hemon, D, Clavel, J (2009). Acute childhood leukaemia and residence next to petrol stations and automotive repair garages: the ESCALE study (SFCE). Occup. Environ. Med. 66: 598-606 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Infante-Rivard, C. (2008). CHEMICAL RISK FACTORS AND CHILDHOOD LEUKAEMIA: A REVIEW OF RECENT STUDIES. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 0: ncn292v1-8 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Behren, J. V., Reynolds, P., Gunier, R. B., Rull, R. P., Hertz, A., Urayama, K. Y., Kronish, D., Buffler, P. A. (2008). Residential Traffic Density and Childhood Leukemia Risk. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 17: 2298-2301 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Schwarze, P E, Ovrevik, J, Lag, M, Refsnes, M, Nafstad, P, Hetland, R B, Dybing, E (2006). Particulate matter properties and health effects: consistency of epidemiological and toxicological studies. Hum Exp Toxicol 25: 559-579 [Abstract]  
• Knox, E G (2006). Roads, railways, and childhood cancers. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 60: 136-141 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Menegaux, F, Baruchel, A, Bertrand, Y, Lescoeur, B, Leverger, G, Nelken, B, Sommelet, D, Hemon, D, Clavel, J (2006). Household exposure to pesticides and risk of childhood acute leukaemia. Occup. Environ. Med. 63: 131-134 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Knox, E G (2005). Oil combustion and childhood cancers. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 59: 755-760 [Abstract] [Full Text]