生物谷报道：一项新的研究显示，幼年时期的癌症可能与胎记有关。美国明尼苏达州立大学的Julie A. Ross博士表示：“胎记代表的可能是胎儿在出生前发育情况受到改变，这种现象会提高形成癌症的风险。此研究发表于医学期刊Pediatrics。”
研究人员调查的资料来源为出生于1959到1966年的49,503位儿童，若有胎记的儿童，在其出生后一年内就被详载于文件中，这些胎记的型式包括：鲜红斑痣（port-wine stains）、色素痣（pigmented moles）、草莓胎记（strawberry birthmarks）以及咖啡牛奶斑(Cafe-au-lait spot)等。其中共有2,505位儿童在文件中有记载胎记记录，47位在八岁前被诊断出癌症的儿童中有7位为有胎记记录。
把所有的癌症都统计在内，有胎记的人在幼童时期得到癌症的机会大约高三倍，但对于会产生何种癌症则没有特异性。Ross博士的研究团队表示：“此调查中，由于得到癌症的人数过少，所以此推论也可能是机率。不过，研究人员仍希望这项调查结果，能让大家关心胎记的产生可能也是幼童时期造成癌症的原因之一。”
原始出处:
PEDIATRICS， Vol. 119 No. 5 May 2007, pp. e1088-e1093 (doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2315)
Childhood Cancer and Birthmarks in the Collaborative Perinatal Project
Kimberly J. Johnson, MPHa, Logan G. Spector, PhDa, Mark A. Klebanoff, MD, MPHb and Julie A. Ross, PhDa
a Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
b National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
OBJECTIVE. Three previous retrospective studies noted a positive association between birthmarks and childhood cancer. The objective of this study was to determine whether the incidence of cancer is increased in children with birthmarks relative to those without birthmarks using data from the Collaborative Perinatal Project cohort, a large, prospective study.
METHODS. Our study population comprised 49503 US children who were born between 1959 and 1968. Birthmarks were documented as definite or suspected during the first year through history or medical examinations and included hemangiomas (port-wine, strawberry, or cavernous), pigmented nevi, lymphangiomas, and café-au-lait spots. The association between birthmarks and childhood cancer was determined using Cox proportional hazards regression.
RESULTS. In the Collaborative Perinatal Project, 2505 individuals had a documented definite or suspected birthmark, including 7 of 47 children who developed cancer. Birthmarks were associated with a significant increase in the risk for cancer. There was a slight attenuation of the risk estimate when cases that were diagnosed in the first year of life were excluded. No specific childhood malignancies were notably affected by birthmarks.
CONCLUSIONS. Although this study was based on a small number of cases, we found birthmarks to be in excess in children who received a diagnosis of cancer using prospective data. These findings provide additional support for the possibility of a shared etiology between birthmarks and childhood cancer that could offer insight into the pathogenesis of pediatric malignancy.
Key Words: birthmarks • childhood cancer • etiology • risk factors
Abbreviations: BWS—Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome • NF1—neurofibromatosis type I • ALL—acute lymphoblastic leukemia • CPP—Collaborative Perinatal Project • HR—hazard ratio • CI—confidence interval • SES—socioeconomic status • AML—acute myelogenous leukemia • IGF—insulin-like growth factor
