Pesticide Exposure and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Children
I firmly believe that genetic factors in cancer and many other human diseases play a much smaller role than environmental factors. Many of the infant and childhood cancers have been related back to chemical exposure while in the womb, or in early childhood. We need to re-evaluate the chemicals we are exposing ourselves to every day without thinking twice about it.
Cancer 2000;89:2315-2321 A significantly increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is associated with in utero and early childhood exposure to pesticides, according to a report in the December 1st issue of Cancer. While the risk is well known for adults, according to the authors, this is the first study that provides evidence of risk among children. Dr. Buckley’s group found a significant association between non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the use of pesticides in the home for most days (odds ratio 7.3). They also found an association between non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and pesticide exposure caused by professional exterminators (odds ratio 3.0) and from postnatal exposure (odds ratio 2.4). Although Dr. Buckley and colleagues have demonstrated an association between pesticide exposure and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in children, they were unable to pinpoint any particular chemical agent.