Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 3, 2025

A Brain Tumor/Organotypic Slice Co-culture System for Studying Tumor Microenvironment and Targeted Drug Therapies
Published on: November 7, 2015
Socioeconomic status and childhood central nervous system tumors in California
Stephen S Francis1, Rong Wang2, Catherine Enders3
1Department of Neurological Surgery, Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, 1450 3rd St, HD483, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA. Stephen.francis@ucsf.edu.
Purpose:
Childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the leading cause of cancer mortality in children. Previous studies have suggested that some childhood cancers, including primary CNS tumors, may be associated with higher socioeconomic status (SES).
Methods:
We linked data from the California Cancer Registry to California birth records for children (age 0-19 years) diagnosed with primary CNS tumors during 1988-2011 and analyzed multiple measures of parental SES around the birth of their children and subsequent risk for childhood CNS tumors. Our SES measures included birth record-derived parental education and insurance utilization. For a subset of subjects born between 1997 and 2007, we geocoded addresses and examined census-derived median household income and educational level.
Results:
We analyzed data for 3,022 children with primary CNS tumors and 10,791 matched controls. We found consistent evidence across multiple measures that lower estimates of SES are associated with a reduced risk of CNS tumors. In tumor subgroup analyses, this relationship was most consistent in astrocytomas and ependymomas, with varying findings for embryonal tumors.
Conclusion:
Higher parental SES appears to be a risk factor for childhood CNS tumors in California. Further research is needed to determine specific exposures that may explain this increased risk.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Tumor Progression
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Biological Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic Factors in Schizophrenia
The genetic basis of schizophrenia is strongly supported by family and twin...
Cancer Survival Analysis

