Abstract
The Inter-Regional Epidemiological Study of Childhood Cancer included 43 cases of soft tissue and 30 cases of bone sarcomas, together with their 146 matched controls. Analysis of a wide range of aetiological factors revealed few risk factors relating to events during the index pregnancy, the earlier medical experiences of the case child, or parental medical, occupational and smoking history. Associations which did emerge included: lower birth weight in children with Ewing's tumour, an excess of mothers of children with soft tissue sarcoma with symptoms of toxaemia in pregnancy; and more children with rhabdomyosarcoma who received antibiotics soon after birth. There was some evidence that mothers of children with soft tissue sarcoma may have had reduced fertility with a significant excess of the case mothers having no other pregnancies. Slight excesses of congenital malformations in the case children and of malignant and benign/borderline neoplastic disease in the older mothers were consistent with the existence of a degree of genetic predisposition in the development of the tumours in this series.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
IRESCC Group: the authors and C.C. Bailey, A.H. Cameron, R.H.A. Campbell, S.C. Cartwright, J.J. Corkery, D. Deakin, P. Gornall, P.A. Hopton, H.B. Marsden, P.H. Morris Jones, D. Pearson, J.M.T. Saiu, R. Swindell and J. Williams.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hartley, A., Birch, J., McKinney, P. et al. The Inter-Regional Epidemiological Study of Childhood Cancer (IRESCC): case control study of children with bone and soft tissue sarcomas. Br J Cancer 58, 838–842 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1988.321
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1988.321
This article is cited by
-
Preeclampsia, antihypertensive medication use in pregnancy and risk of childhood cancer in offspring
Cancer Causes & Control (2023)
-
Case–control study of paternal occupational exposures and childhood bone tumours and soft-tissue sarcomas in Great Britain, 1962–2010
British Journal of Cancer (2020)
-
Maternal and birth characteristics and childhood rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group
Cancer Causes & Control (2014)
-
The Epidemiology of Sarcoma
Clinical Sarcoma Research (2012)
-
Height at diagnosis and birth-weight as risk factors for osteosarcoma
Cancer Causes & Control (2011)