Perinatal and familial factors influence risk of brain tumors in childhood through young adulthood

Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer death in childhood. But how the brain tumors occur remains unknown. Previous studies showed perinatal factors, including high birth weight, have been associated with childhood brain tumors. However, the specific contributions of gestational age and fetal growth remain unknown, and these issues have never been examined in large cohort studies with follow-up into adulthood. This national study was conducted to examine perinatal and familial risk factors with more than 3.5 million persons born in Sweden between 1973–2008, followed up for brain tumor incidence through 2010 (maximum age 38 years). High fetal growth, having siblings or parents with the brain cancer, having Swedish-born parents and having mother with high education level are risk factors for brain tumors. These risk factors did not vary by age at diagnosis. High fetal growth was also associated with pilocytic astrocytomas (one subtype of brain tumors), but not with other brain tumors. Gestational age at birth, birth order, multiple birth, and parental age were not associated with brain tumors. In this study high fetal growth was associated with an increased risk of brain tumors (particularly pilocytic astrocytomas) independently of gestational age, not only in childhood but also into young adulthood, implying that growth factor pathways may play an important long-term role in the development of certain brain tumor subtypes.

Original article: Casey et al (2015) Perinatal and Familial Risk Factors for Brain Tumors in Childhood through Young Adulthood. Cancer Res. 2015 Feb; 75(3):576-83