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Longer breast-feeding and protection against childhood leukaemia and lymphomas
1Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, PO Box 17666, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Insights
Longer breast-feeding durations, over six months, appear to protect children from developing acute leukaemia and lymphomas. Shorter feeding periods were associated with increased risks for these childhood cancers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Epidemiology
- Public Health Nutrition
Background:
- The protective role of breastfeeding against childhood cancers like acute leukaemia and lymphomas remains unclear.
- Previous studies have yielded inconsistent findings regarding the association between breastfeeding and childhood lymphoid malignancies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between breastfeeding duration and the risk of childhood acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL), Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted with 117 pediatric cancer patients (ALL, HL, NHL) and 117 matched controls.
- Mothers of participants provided information on breastfeeding duration via telephone interviews.
Main Results:
- Median breastfeeding duration was significantly shorter in patients (7 months) compared to controls (10 months).
- Breastfeeding for 0-6 months was associated with increased odds ratios for ALL, HL, NHL, and overall lymphoid malignancies compared to breastfeeding longer than 6 months.
- Multivariate analysis confirmed breastfeeding duration as an independent predictor of lymphoid malignancies.
Conclusions:
- Breastfeeding for longer than 6 months may offer a protective effect against childhood acute leukaemia and lymphomas.
- Findings suggest that promoting extended breastfeeding could be a strategy for cancer prevention in children.
Abstract:
The role of breast-feeding in protecting against childhood acute leukaemia and lymphomas is uncertain. We investigated this issue in a case-control study comprising 117 patients, aged 2-14 years, with acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL), Hodgkin's (HL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), as well as 117 controls matched for age, sex and ethnicity. Information was collected via a telephone interview of the mothers. The median duration of breast-feeding among patients was significantly shorter than among controls, 7 (range 0-23) and 10 (range 0-20) months, respectively (P<0.0001). Breast-feeding of 0-6 months' duration, when compared with feeding of longer than 6 months, was associated with increased odds ratios (OR) for ALL (OR=2.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-5.25), HL (OR=3.75, 95% CI 0.80-18.69), NHL (OR=4.06, 95% CI 0.82-22.59), and overall (OR=2.79, 95% CI 1.54-5.05). In the patient group, there were a significantly higher number of children and people per family, and patients were of a higher birth order than controls. In multivariate analysis, breast-feeding duration continues to be an independent predictor of lymphoid malignancies (P=0.015). In conclusion, breast-feeding lasting longer than 6 months may protect against childhood acute leukaemia and lymphomas.