Folate Metabolism and Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Genetic Pathway Analysis from the Childhood Cancer and Leukemia International Consortium.

Background: Prenatal folate supplementation has been consistently associated with a reduced risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Previous germline genetic studies examining the one carbon (folate) metabolism pathway were limited in sample size, scope, and population diversity and led to inconclusive results.

Methods: We evaluated whether ∼2,900 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within 46 candidate genes involved in the folate metabolism pathway influence the risk of childhood ALL, using genome-wide data from nine case-control studies in the Childhood Cancer and Leukemia International Consortium (n = 9,058 cases including 4,510 children of European ancestry, 3,018 Latinx, and 1,406 Asians, and 92,364 controls).

Medically Assisted Reproduction and Risk of Cancer Among Offspring.

Importance: Cancer is a leading cause of death among children worldwide. Treatments used for medically assisted reproduction (MAR) are suspected risk factors because of their potential for epigenetic disturbance and associated congenital malformations.

Objective: To assess the risk of cancer, overall and by cancer type, among children born after MAR compared with children conceived naturally.

Temporal Trends in the Completeness of Epidemiological Variables in a Hospital-Based Cancer Registry of a Pediatric Oncology Center in Brazil.

This ecological time series study aimed to examine the temporal trends in the completeness of epidemiological variables from a hospital-based cancer registry (HbCR) of a reference center for pediatric oncology in Brazil from 2010 to 2016. Completeness categories were based on the percentage of missing data, with the categories excellent (<5%), good (5-10%), regular (11-20%), poor (21-50%), and very poor (>50%). Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed using R.

Limited ecological opportunity influences the tempo of morphological evolution in birds.

According to classic models of lineage diversification and adaptive radiation, phenotypic evolution should accelerate in the context of ecological opportunity and slow down when niches become saturated. However, only weak support for these ideas has been found in nature, perhaps because most analyses make the biologically unrealistic assumption that clade members contribute equally to reducing ecological opportunity, even when they occur in different continents or specialize on different habitats and diets. To view this problem through a different lens, we adapted a new phylogenetic modeling approach that accounts for the fact that competition for ecological opportunity only occurs between species that coexist and share similar habitats and diets.

Risk factors for childhood brain tumours: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies from 1976 to 2022.

Background: Childhood brain tumours (CBTs) are the leading cause of cancer death in children under the age of 20 years globally. Though the aetiology of CBT remains poorly understood, it is thought to be multifactorial. We aimed to synthesize potential risk factors for CBT to inform primary prevention.

Residential proximity to vines and risk of childhood embryonal tumours in France - GEOCAP case-control study, 2006-2013.

Background: Exposure to pesticides has been suggested as a potential risk factor for childhood embryonal tumour. The existing literature has mainly focused on parental occupational exposure and domestic use of pesticides, and is very limited for residential exposures to agricultural pesticides. The study aimed to test the hypothesis of an increased risk of embryonal tumour in children living close to viticultural plots, likely to be subject to frequent pesticide applications.

Association between Residential Proximity to Viticultural Areas and Childhood Acute Leukemia Risk in Mainland France: GEOCAP Case-Control Study, 2006-2013.

Background: Pesticide exposures are suspected of being a risk factor for several childhood cancers, particularly acute leukemia (AL). Most of the evidence is based on self-reported parental domestic use of pesticides, but some studies have also addressed associations with agricultural use of pesticides near the place of residence.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate the risk of AL in children living close to vines, a crop subject to intensive pesticide use.

Diversity and evolution of cerebellar folding in mammals.

The process of brain folding is thought to play an important role in the development and organisation of the cerebrum and the cerebellum. The study of cerebellar folding is challenging due to the small size and abundance of its folia. In consequence, little is known about its anatomical diversity and evolution.

The feasibility of implementing Toronto childhood cancer stage guidelines and estimating the impact on outcome for childhood cancers in seven pediatric oncology units in sub-Saharan Africa. A study from the Franco-African Pediatric Oncology Group.

Background: The improvement of childhood cancer outcome is determined by early diagnosis, effective treatment, supportive care, and adequate medical follow-up. Stage at diagnosis may reflect timeliness of diagnosis, therefore standardized registration of stage is essential for interpretation of regional differences and time trends in survival. Here, we describe the feasibility of implementing the Toronto Childhood Cancer Stage Guidelines (hereafter Toronto Guidelines [TG]) in the hospital-based cancer registry of the Franco-African Pediatric Oncology Group (GFAOP), and assess the impact of TG stage on outcome in pediatric oncology units (POUs) in seven low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Nonchromosomal birth defects and risk of childhood acute leukemia: An assessment in 15 000 leukemia cases and 46 000 controls from the Childhood Cancer and Leukemia International Consortium.

Although recent studies have demonstrated associations between nonchromosomal birth defects and several pediatric cancers, less is known about their role on childhood leukemia susceptibility. Using data from the Childhood Cancer and Leukemia International Consortium, we evaluated associations between nonchromosomal birth defects and childhood leukemia. Pooling consortium data from 18 questionnaire-based and three registry-based case-control studies across 13 countries, we used multivariable logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between a spectrum of birth defects and leukemia.

Breastfeeding and risk of childhood brain tumors: a report from the Childhood Cancer and Leukemia International Consortium.

Purpose: Studies report mixed findings regarding the association of breastfeeding with childhood brain tumors (CBT), the leading causes of cancer-related mortality in young people. Our objective was to determine whether breastfeeding is associated with CBT incidence.

Methods: We pooled data on N = 2610 cases with CBT (including 697 cases with astrocytoma, 447 cases with medulloblastoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor [PNET], 167 cases with ependymoma) and N = 8128 age- and sex-matched controls in the Childhood Cancer and Leukemia International Consortium.

Developmental origin underlies evolutionary rate variation across the placental skull.

The placental skull has evolved into myriad forms, from longirostrine whales to globular primates, and with a diverse array of appendages from antlers to tusks. This disparity has recently been studied from the perspective of the whole skull, but the skull is composed of numerous elements that have distinct developmental origins and varied functions. Here, we assess the evolution of the skull's major skeletal elements, decomposed into 17 individual regions.

Seasonality of main childhood embryonal tumours and rhabdomyosarcoma, France, 2000-2015.

Few studies have investigated the seasonal patterns of embryonal tumours. Based on data from the French National Registry of Childhood Cancers, the present study aimed to investigate seasonal variations in embryonal tumour incidence rates by month of birth and by month of diagnosis. The study included 6635 primary embryonal tumour cases diagnosed before the age of 15 years over the period 2000-2015 in mainland France.

Mammalian forelimb evolution is driven by uneven proximal-to-distal morphological diversity.

Vertebrate limb morphology often reflects the environment due to variation in locomotor requirements. However, proximal and distal limb segments may evolve differently from one another, reflecting an anatomical gradient of functional specialization that has been suggested to be impacted by the timing of development. Here, we explore whether the temporal sequence of bone condensation predicts variation in the capacity of evolution to generate morphological diversity in proximal and distal forelimb segments across more than 600 species of mammals.

Residential proximity to croplands at birth and childhood leukaemia.

Background: Domestic and parental occupational pesticide exposures are suspected of involvement in the occurrence of childhood acute leukaemia (AL), but the role of exposure to agricultural activities is little known. In a previous ecological study conducted in France, we observed an increase in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) incidence rate with increasing viticulture density in the municipalities of residence at diagnosis.

Objectives: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that residential proximity to croplands at birth increases the risk of childhood AL, with a particular focus on vineyards.

Attenuated evolution of mammals through the Cenozoic.

The Cenozoic diversification of placental mammals is the archetypal adaptive radiation. Yet, discrepancies between molecular divergence estimates and the fossil record fuel ongoing debate around the timing, tempo, and drivers of this radiation. Analysis of a three-dimensional skull dataset for living and extinct placental mammals demonstrates that evolutionary rates peak early and attenuate quickly.

Herbicide use in farming and other jobs in relation to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) risk.

Objectives: Given mixed evidence for carcinogenicity of current-use herbicides, we studied the relationship between occupational herbicide use and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in a large, pooled study.

Methods: We pooled data from 10 case-control studies participating in the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium, including 9229 cases and 9626 controls from North America, the European Union and Australia. Herbicide use was coded from self-report or by expert assessment in the individual studies, for herbicide groups (eg, phenoxy herbicides) and active ingredients (eg, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), glyphosate).

Parental occupational exposure to combustion products, metals, silica and asbestos and risk of childhood leukaemia: Findings from the Childhood Cancer and Leukaemia International Consortium (CLIC).

Parental occupational exposures around conception (father) or during pregnancy (mother) have been hypothesized as potential predisposing factors for childhood leukaemia. We investigated parental exposure to several known occupational carcinogens and childhood leukaemia risk. We conducted a pooled analysis using case-control data from four European countries (3362 childhood leukemia cases and 6268 controls).