Delayed infection, late tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy and adult leukaemia: a case-control study
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Updated: Sep 27, 2026
Isolation of Tonsillar Mononuclear Cells to Study Ex Vivo Innate Immune Responses in a Human Mucosal Lymphoid Tissue
Published on: June 14, 2020
P Vineis1, L Miligi, P Crosignani
1Servizio di Epidemiologia dei Tumori, Ospedale S. Giovanni Battista e Università di Torino, Italy. paolo.vineis@unito.it
Abstract:
In a population-based case-control study among adults in Italy, of 261 lymphoid and 313 myeloid leukaemias and 1718 controls, a later age at adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy (after age 10 years) increased considerably the risk of lymphocytic (but not myeloid) leukaemia (odds ratio 4.2, 95% confidence interval 1.1-16.2). We propose that late infection is a proliferative stimulus for B-cells.
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