Home pesticide use and childhood cancer: a case-control study

The association between childhood cancer and home pesticide use was examined in a case-control study of children under 15 years of age. Parents of 252 children diagnosed with cancer in the Denver area between 1976 and 1983 and of 222 control subjects were interviewed regarding use of home pest extermination, yard treatment, and pest strips. The strongest associations were found for yard treatments and soft tissue sarcomas (odds ratios [ORs] around 4.0) and for use of pest strips and leukemias (ORs between 1.7 and 3.0). These results suggest that use of home pesticides may be associated with some types of childhood cancer.