Parental age and risk of lymphoid neoplasms
Menée en Suède à partir de données portant sur 32 000 patients atteints d'une tumeur lymphoïde diagnostiquée entre 1987 et 2011 avant l'âge de 80 ans et sur 160 000 témoins, cette étude évalue l'association entre l'âge du père et de la mère au moment de la naissance de leur enfant, et le risque pour l'enfant de développer, à l'âge adulte, une leucémie ou un lymphome par sous-type
High parental age at childbirth has repeatedly been linked to childhood malignancies, while few studies have focused on the offspring's risk of adult cancer. In this population-based case-control study we identified 32,000 patients with lymphoid neoplasms diagnosed at age 0-79 years during the period 1987-2011 in Sweden and 160,000 matched controls. Using prospectively registered data of their first-degree relatives we evaluated the impact of parental age on risk of lymphoid neoplasms by subtype. Overall, each five-year increment in maternal age was associated with a 3% increase in incidence of offspring lymphoid neoplasms (Hazard Ratio 1.03, 95% Confidence Interval 1.02-1.04). The association was similar for paternal age and present even among individuals above age 70 at diagnosis. Stratified analyses further revealed that the association was limited to certain subtypes, mostly of indolent nature. Risks of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma were increased by 5-10% per five-year increment in maternal age, but no associations were observed for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, plasma cell neoplasms or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The findings indicate that prenatal genetic or epigenetic changes influence risk of adult lymphoid neoplasms and suggest a difference in this association between aggressive and indolent lymphoma subtypes.