Genetic polymorphisms of Th2 interleukins, history of asthma or eczema and childhood acute lymphoid leukaemia: Findings from the ESCALE study (SFCE).

Background: Previous studies on the putative role of allergy in the aetiology of childhood leukaemia have reported contradictory results. The present study aimed to analyse the relation between a medical history of asthma or eczema and childhood acute lymphoid leukaemia (ALL) in light of potential candidate gene-environment interactions.

Methods: Analyses were based on a subset of 434 cases of ALL and 442 controls successfully genotyped and of European ancestry children enrolled in a French population-based case-control study conducted in 2003-2004.

ARID5B, IKZF1 and non-genetic factors in the etiology of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: the ESCALE study.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified that frequent polymorphisms in ARID5B and IKZF1, two genes involved in lymphoid differentiation, increase the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). These findings markedly modified the current field of research on the etiology of ALL. In this new context, the present exploratory study investigated the possible interactions between these at-risk alleles and the non-genetic suspected ALL risk factors that were of sufficient prevalence in the French ESCALE study: maternal use of home insecticides during pregnancy, preconception paternal smoking, and some proxies for early immune modulation, i.

Childhood leukaemia close to high-voltage power lines--the Geocap study, 2002-2007.

Background: High-voltage overhead power lines (HVOLs) are a source of extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs), which are classified as possible risk factors for childhood acute leukaemia (AL). The study was carried out to test the hypothesis of an increased AL incidence in children living close to HVOL of 225-400 kV (VHV-HVOL) and 63-150 kV (HV-HVOL).

Methods: The nationwide Geocap study included all the 2779 cases of childhood AL diagnosed in France over 2002-2007 and 30 000 contemporaneous population controls.

Childhood acute leukemia, maternal beverage intake during pregnancy, and metabolic polymorphisms.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the associations between childhood acute leukemia (AL) and maternal caffeinated beverage consumption during pregnancy, and to explore interactions between caffeinated and alcoholic beverage consumption and polymorphisms of enzymes involved in caffeine and ethanol metabolisms.

Methods: The data were generated by the French ESCALE study, which included 764 AL cases and 1,681 controls in 2003-2004. The case and control mothers were interviewed on their consumption habits during pregnancy using a standardized questionnaire.