Childhood infectious diseases and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma according to the WHO classification: a reanalysis of the Italian multicentre case-control study
Menée en Italie à partir de données portant sur 1 193 patients atteints d'un lymphome non hodgkinien diagnostiqué entre 1990 et 1993 et sur 1 708 témoins, cette étude évalue l'association entre des maladies infectieuses infantiles et le risque de développer un lymphome
Since 1960, incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has been increasing in most industrialized countries, but causes of this trend remain unclear. A role of the decreased exposure to infectious agents during childhood has been proposed. This study evaluates the association between common childhood infectious diseases and the risk of NHL and its major subtypes by a reanalysis of the Italian multicentre case-control study. After exclusion of next-of-kin interviews, 1,193 cases, diagnosed between 1990 and 1993, and 1,708 population-based controls were included in the analyses. OR estimates were obtained by logistic regression, adjusting for gender, age, residence area, education, smoking habit and exposure to radiations, pesticides and aromatic hydrocarbons. Among B cell lymphomas (n = 1,102) an inverse association was observed for rubella (OR = 0.80, 95%CI: 0.65 - 0.99), pertussis (OR = 0.74, 95%CI: 0.62 - 0.88), and any infection (OR = 0.75, 95%CI: 0.61 - 0.93). A negative trend by number of infections was observed, which was more evident among mature B cell lymphoma (OR = 0.66 for three infections or more, 95%CI: 0.48 - 0.90). Our results indicate a potential protective role of common childhood infections in the aetiology of B cell NHL. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.