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Endogenous risk factors for childhood leukemia in relation to the IGF system (Greece)

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Abstract

Objective: Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and its principal binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) are central in the mediation of the effect of growth hormone, and the IGF system has been reported to play a role in the pathogenesis of childhood leukemia.

Methods: To further evaluate the hypothesis connecting the IGF system to this disease, we have examined whether IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 are associated with the two main endogenous risk factors for childhood leukemia, namely gender and birth weight, since boys and heavier newborns are known to be at higher risk. IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were measured under code in the serum of 118 apparently healthy children aged 0–14years and the values of each of these components were regressed on age, gender and birth weight. Insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF-2), as a dependent variable, and anemia during the corresponding pregnancy, as a predictor variable, were also evaluated for exploratory purposes.

Results: In the total data set, IGF-1 was positively associated with birth weight (p = 0.0001), whereas girls had higher levels of IGFBP-3 (p = 0.01).

Conclusions: It appears that the associations of measured components of the IGF system with the examined risk factors for childhood leukemia are largely compatible with those that would have been expected, if this system played a role in the pathogenesis of childhood leukemia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Athens University Medical School, 75 M. Asias Str., Athens, 11527, Greece

    Eleni Petridou

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Eleni Petridou & Dimitrios Trichopoulos

  3. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Athens University Medical School, 75 M. Asias Str., Athens, 11527, Greece

    Alkistis Skalkidou, Nick Dessypris, Maria Moustaki & Dimitrios Trichopoulos

  4. Division of Endocrinology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Boston, MA, USA

    Christos Mantzoros

  5. Biomed, International Diagnostic Centre, Athens, Greece

    Evangelos Spanos

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  1. Eleni Petridou
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  2. Alkistis Skalkidou
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  3. Nick Dessypris
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  4. Maria Moustaki
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  5. Christos Mantzoros
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  6. Evangelos Spanos
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  7. Dimitrios Trichopoulos
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Petridou, E., Skalkidou, A., Dessypris, N. et al. Endogenous risk factors for childhood leukemia in relation to the IGF system (Greece). Cancer Causes Control 11, 765–771 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008988819494

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