Cancer Research UK: No conclusive link
Tuesday, 29 Apr 2008 12:48
There is no conclusive evidence on a link between the risk of childhood leukaemia and a lack of social interaction in early years, according to Cancer Research UK.
As such the charity says it is not possible to recommend ways to avoid this disease.
Its comments follow a study which claimed that social interaction at an early age could help to reduce the risk of the most common form of childhood leukaemia.
Professor Jillian Birch, director of Cancer Research UK's paediatric and familial cancer research group at the University of Manchester, advised that although cancer is a very common disease, cancers in children are "rare in children".
She said that the risk of a child being diagnosed with cancer before the age of 15 is about one in 500.
"Many studies have found evidence for a link between infection and childhood leukaemia, but exactly how infection affects a child's risk of developing the disease still remains unclear," Professor Birch added.
"Until we have conclusive evidence on the risk factors for childhood leukaemia and an understanding of a mechanism behind its link with infection, it's too early to make recommendations on how to avoid this relatively rare disease."
