• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5229-5232
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• 2014

Background: While many studies have concluded that local traffic density is positively associated with childhood leukemia, the results are inconsistent. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between traffic density and the risk of childhood leukemia. Methods: A systematic literature review was carried out using PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library from January 1979 to December 2013. We selected and assessed journal articles evaluating the relationship between local traffic density and the risk of leukemia in children. The analysis was carried out using STATA version 12.0. Results: A total of 11 articles, including 12 estimates of effect, were included in our meta-analysis. The summary effect size from the random-effects model, expressed as an odds ratio, was 1.03 (95% CI: 0.98-1.09, p=0.002). No significant association between traffic density and the risk of childhood leukemia was found. Similar conclusions were found on subgroup analysis. Conclusions: The results of our meta-analysis suggested no association between traffic density and the risk of childhood leukemia. This implies that living in close proximity to roads with heavy traffic may not increase the risk of childhood leukemia. However, further high-quality prospective trials are needed to support these results.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.238-245
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• 2013

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to assess social adjustment of childhood cancer survivors and to identify factors affecting social adjustment. Methods: Data were collected from 79 childhood cancer survivors and his/her parents. The survey consisted of questions related to characteristics, physical functioning, depression, self-esteem and coping strategies. The Social Competence Inventory was used to measure social adjustment in the children. Results: The level of social adjustment of childhood cancer survivors was 83.5 out of a possible 155. Physical functioning, depression, self-esteem, and aggressive or proactive coping strategies were associated with social adjustment. Only physical functioning independently affected social adjustment. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that there are several factors influencing social adjustment of childhood cancer survivors, and therefore there is a need for programs that deal with all aspects of children's physical as well as emotional health in order to enhance their social adjustment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.319-332
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• 2018

Germline mutations in cancer causing genes result in high risk of developing cancer throughout life. These cancer predisposition syndromes (CPS) are especially prevalent in childhood brain tumors and impact both the patient's and other family members' survival. Knowledge of specific CPS may alter the management of the cancer, offer novel targeted therapies which may improve survival for these patients, and enables early detection of other malignancies. This review focuses on the role of CPS in pediatric high grade gliomas (PHGG), the deadliest group of childhood brain tumors. Genetic aspects and clinical features are depicted, allowing clinicians to identify and diagnose these syndromes. Challenges in the management of PHGG in the context of each CPS and the promise of innovative options of treatment and surveillance guidelines are discussed with the hope of improving outcome for individuals with these devastating syndromes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4733-4737
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• 2013

Purpose: Numerous observational epidemiological studies have evaluated associations between breastfeeding and the risk of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma; however, the existing results are inconsistent. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Medical literature was searched in the Pubmed and Embase databases to identify all English-language relevant studies up to April 10, 2013. Reference lists were thereafter hand-searched for additional articles. Studies that reported relative risk ratios (RRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were included. This meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the guidelines for the meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology. Results: We finally included 10 case-control studies in our meta-analysis, involving 1,618 childhood Hodgkin lymphoma cases and 8,181 controls. Overall, we did found a borderline significant association between breastfeeding and reduced risk of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma comparing ever breastfed children to never breastfed children (pooled OR =0.79; 95%CI, 0.58-1.08; P=0.13), with limited evidence for between-study heterogeneity (P =0.12, $I^2$ = 35.70%). Conclusion: There is limited evidence for an inverse association between breastfeeding and risk of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.17-30
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• 2020

Objectives : To find treatment techniques and design clinical studies, this study reviewed controlled clinical studies on traditional Asian medicine treatment for childhood cancer. Methods : Literature searches were performed on four databases, such as NDSL, OASIS, PubMed, and CNKI. Studies were categorized and analyzed according to the treatment goal and we also assessed the quality of the randomized controlled trials (RCT) using Van Tulder Scale. Results : Twenty-seven studies met our inclusion criteria: 21 RCTs, 4 controlled trials, 2 Cohort studies, however only 6 among the 21 RCTs got the scores of high quality. Various interventions were used, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, acupressure, and chuna. 7 studies were focused on cure of leukemia or solid cancer. 11 studies were performed to alleviate chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. 9 studies were focused on other complications of chemotherapy. Conclusions : Most of the studies reported significant effectiveness of traditional medicine treatment compared to controlled group. However we could not made a definite conclusion because of the low quality and heterogeneity of the studies included. More studies should be performed to introduce traditional Asian medicine to childhood cancer treatment.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.78-90
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate measurement properties of self-report questionnaires measuring the social adjustment for youth after treatment of childhood cancer. Methods: Social adjustment measurement tools were identified through a two-stage systematic review. First, we searched for articles using self-report questionnaires to measure the social adjustment of youth after the treatment of childhood cancer. The appropriate tools were listed and categorized. Second, using methodological filters, we searched 5 electronic databases for articles examining the measurement properties of the tools when used with youth after the treatment of childhood cancer. The quality of these papers was then evaluated using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Results: Eight tools were frequently used to measure social adjustment. Eight studies investigated the measurement properties of 4 of these tools. The PedsQL 4.0 and MMQL-AF had moderate to strong evidence in some domains, but the rest of the domains had a lack of evidence. The SF-36 and KIDSCREEN-27 were validated for only a few areas. Conclusion: We found a lack of evidence regarding the measurement properties of these tools. More research is required on the measurement properties of tools for use in this population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.81-83
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• 2016

Background: Cancer is a subject of continuing concern, more common in adults than in children, but often with a poor outcome in the latter. Our study set itself the objective to describe the epidemiological and histological aspects of solid cancers in children in Togo. Materials and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study focused on cases of solid cancers in children diagnosed from 2010 to 2014 (5 years) at the pathology laboratory of the Tokoin teaching hospital. Data were collected from the records of that laboratory. Results: We collected 66 cases of childhood cancer representing 5% of all solid cancers. The annual incidence was 13.2 cases. The sex ratio (M/F) was 1.4; mean age was of $7.2{\pm}1.6years$. The age group most affected was that of 5-9 years (40.9%). Four histological groups of solid childhood cancers were listed: lymphoma (n=34 cases; 51.5%), embryonic cancer (n=17 cases; 25.8%), sarcomas (n=13 cases; 19.7%) and carcinoma (n=2 cases; 3%). The most common histological types were Burkitt lymphoma (36.4%), nephroblastoma (10.6%) and retinoblastoma (10.6%). Conclusions: This study shows that solid cancers in children are relatively frequent in Togo with a male predominance. They are still largely dominated by Burkitt lymphoma, followed by retinoblastoma and nephroblastoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6491-6496
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• 2012

Background: The influence of parental socio-economic status on childhood cancer treatment outcome in low-income countries has not been sufficiently investigated. Our study examined this influence and explored parental experiences during cancer treatment of their children in an Indonesian academic hospital. Materials and Methods: Medical charts of 145 children diagnosed with cancer between 1999 and 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. From October 2011 until January 2012, 40 caretakers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Results: Of all patients, 48% abandoned treatment, 34% experienced death, 9% had progressive/relapsed disease, and 9% overall event-free survival. Prosperous patients had better treatment outcome than poor patients (P<0.0001). Odds-ratio for treatment abandonment was 3.3 (95%CI: 1.4-8.1, p=0.006) for poor versus prosperous patients. Parents often believed that their child's health was beyond doctor control and determined by luck, fate or God (55%). Causes of cancer were thought to be destiny (35%) or God's punishment (23%). Alternative treatment could (18%) or might (50%) cure cancer. Most parents (95%) would like more information about cancer and treatment. More contact with doctors was desired (98%). Income decreased during treatment (55%). Parents lost employment (48% fathers, 10% mothers), most of whom stated this loss was caused by their child's cancer (84% fathers, 100% mothers). Loss of income led to financial difficulties (63%) and debts (55%). Conclusions: Treatment abandonment was most important reason for treatment failure. Treatment outcome was determined by parental socio-economic status. Childhood cancer survival could improve if financial constraints and provision of information and guidance are better addressed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4517-4525
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• 2016

Background: Sperm DNA damage is underlying aetiology of poor implantation and pregnancy rates but also affects health of offspring and may also result in denovo mutations in germ line and post fertilization. This may result in complex diseases, polygenic disorders and childhood cancers. Childhood cancer like retinoblastoma (RB) is more prevalent in developing countries and the incidence of RB has increased more than three fold in India in the last decade. Recent studies have documented increased incidence of cancers in children born to fathers who consume alcohol in excess and tobacco or who were conceived by assisted conception. The aetiology of childhood cancer and increased disease burden in these children is lin ked to oxidative stress (OS) and oxidative DNA damage( ODD) in sperm of their fathers. Though several antioxidants are in use to combat oxidative stress, the effect of majority of these formulations on DNA is not known. Yoga and meditation cause significant decline in OS and ODD and aid in regulating OS levels such that reactive oxygen speues meditated signal transduction, gene expression and several other physiological functions are not disrupted. Thus, this study aimed to analyze sperm ODD as a possible etiological factor in childhood cancer and role of simple life style interventions like yoga and meditation in significantly decreasing seminal oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage and thereby decreasing incidence of childhood cancers. Materials and Methods: A total of 131 fathers of children with RB (non-familial sporadic heritable) and 50 controls (fathers of healthy children) were recruited at a tertiary center in India. Sperm parameters as per WHO 2010 guidelines and reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA fragmentation index (DFI), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxy guanosine (8-OHdG) and telomere length were estimated at day 0, and after 3 and 6 months of intervention. We also examined the compliance with yoga and meditation practice and smoking status at each follow-up. Results: The seminal mean ROS levels (p<0.05), sperm DFI (p<0.001), 8-OHdG (p<0.01) levels were significantly higher in fathers of children with RB, as compared to controls and the relative mean telomere length in the sperm was shorter. Levels of ROS were significantly reduced in tobacco users (p<0.05) as well as in alcoholics (p<0.05) after intervention. DFI reduced significantly (p<0.05) after 6 months of yoga and meditation practice in all groups. The levels of oxidative DNA damage marker 8-OHdG were reduced significantly after 3 months (p<0.05) and 6 months (p<0.05) of practice. Conclusions: Our results suggest that OS and ODD DNA may contribute to the development of childhood cancer. This may be due to accumulation of oxidized mutagenic base 8OHdG, and elevated MDA levels which results in MDA dimers which are also mutagenic, aberrant methylation pattern, altered gene expression which affect cell proliferation and survival through activation of transcription factors. Increased mt DNA mutations and aberrant repair of mt and nuclear DNA due to highly truncatred DNA repair mechanisms all contribute to sperm genome hypermutability and persistant oxidative DNA damage. Oxidative stress is also associated with genome wide hypomethylation, telomere shortening and mitochondrial dysfunction leading to genome hypermutability and instability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report decline in OS and ODD and improvement in sperm DNA integrity following adoption of meditation and yoga based life style modification.This may reduce disease burden in next generation and reduce incidence of childhood cancers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.781-784
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• 2014

Background: Although the cause in most cases of childhood leukemia is not known, the contribution of environmental risk factors in the context of genetic predisposition has been reported with inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to examine association of childhood leukemia with maternal factors especially during pregnancy, to help in avoiding risk factors. Materials and Methods: This case-control study included children younger than 18 years diagnosed with leukemia from 2008 to 2012. Controls were randomly selected and individually matched to cases with respect to age, sex, and residency. All variables were compared between cases and control to determine any significant association with leukemia. Results: Statistically significant associations between risk of childhood leukemia with mother's education (p=0.001), occupation (p=0.0005) and pesticides exposure (p=0.005) during pregnancy were found. However, there were no significant links with maternal age (p=0.090), history of fetal loss (0.85), history of radiography during pregnancy (p=0.400), history of drug intake (p=0.689) and infection (p=0.696) during pregnancy. Conclusions: The results showed increased risk of leukemia in children whose mothers were working in agriculture and were exposed to pesticides during pregnancy. The further study needs to be investigated to know association of various maternal risk factors with leukemia which remained unknown in this study.