Allergy reduces the risk of meningioma: a meta-analysis

Maternal and Perinatal Factors Associated With Childhood Brain Tumors: A Case-Control Study in Vietnam

INTRODUCTION

Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children and the majority of childhood brain tumors are diagnosed without determination of their underlying etiology. Little is known about risk factors for childhood brain tumors in Vietnam. The objective of this case-control study was to identify maternal and perinatal factors associated with brain tumors occurring in young Vietnamese children and adolescents.

METHODS

We conducted a hospital-based case-control study at Viet Duc University Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. Cases consisted of children with brain tumors aged 0-14 years old admitted to the hospital from January 2020 to July 2022 while the controls were age and sex-matched hospitalized children diagnosed with head trauma. Perinatal characteristics were abstracted from hospital medical records and maternal medical, behavioral, and sociodemographic factors were collected through in-person interviews. Conditional logistic regression models were used to examine maternal and perinatal factors associated with childhood brain tumors.

RESULTS

The study sample included 220 children (110 cases and 110 controls) whose average age was 8.9 years and 41.8% were girls. Children born to mothers aged greater than 30 years at the time of the child's birth had a higher risk of childhood brain tumors compared to those born to mothers aged from 18 to 30 years old (OR = 2.55; 95% CI: 1.13-5.75). Additionally low maternal body mass index prior to the current pregnancy of <18.5 kg/m2 significantly increased the odds of having a child with a brain tumor in relation to normal maternal body mass index from 18.5-22.9 kg/m2 (OR = 3.19; 95% CI: 1.36 - 7.50).

CONCLUSION

Advanced maternal age and being markedly underweight were associated with an increased odds of having a child with a brain tumor. A population-based study with larger sample size is needed to confirm and extend the present findings.

Changes in incidence trends of meningioma in Finland, 1990-2017: analysis of Finnish Cancer Registry data

BACKGROUND

Meningiomas are the most common primary neoplasm of the central nervous system. Previous research on the incidence of meningioma in Finland showed an increase in the age-standardized incidence rate over three decades (1968-1997). In this study, we analysed meningioma incidence in Finland during 1990-2017.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data on 9842 meningioma patients were obtained from the Finnish Cancer Registry, and population size by calendar year, sex, and age group from Statistics Finland. The European Standard Population was used to calculate age-standardized incidence rates. Poisson regression was used to evaluate differences by sex and age, and joinpoint regression to examine changes in trend.

RESULTS

At the beginning of the study period, the age-standardized incidence of meningioma for men was 2.35/100,000 and for women 6.96/100,000. In the end, it was 4.09/100,000 and 10.19/100,000, respectively. The annual percent change (APC) for women was +4.6 (95% confidence interval, CI 3.10 to 6.20) from 1990 to 2001 and -1.0 (95% CI -1.70 to -0.30) from 2001 to 2017. For men, the APC was +3.1 (95% CI 0.80-5.40) during 1990-2002 and -0.9 (95% CI -2.10 to 0.30) in 2002-2017. The incidence of meningioma in women was 2.8 times higher than in men (rate ratio 2.81; 95% CI 2.68-2.94).

CONCLUSIONS

Meningioma incidence increased in both sexes from 1990, but the trend reversed in 2001-2002. Medical imaging or risk factors do not appear to explain the changes.

Meningioma: A Review of Epidemiology, Pathology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Future Directions

Meningiomas are the most common intracranial tumor, making up more than a third of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. They are mostly benign tumors that can be observed or preferentially treated with gross total resection that provides good outcomes. Meningiomas with complicated histology or in compromising locations has proved to be a challenge in treating and predicting prognostic outcomes. Advances in genomics and molecular characteristics of meningiomas have uncovered potential use for more accurate grading and prediction of prognosis and recurrence. With the study and detection of genomic aberrancies, specific biologic targets are now being trialed for possible management of meningiomas that are not responsive to standard surgery and radiotherapy treatment. This review summarizes current epidemiology, etiology, molecular characteristics, diagnosis, treatments, and current treatment trials.

Intracranial tumors of the central nervous system and air pollution - a nationwide case-control study from Denmark

BACKGROUND

Inconclusive evidence has suggested a possible link between air pollution and central nervous system (CNS) tumors. We investigated a range of air pollutants in relation to types of CNS tumors.

METHODS

We identified all (n = 21,057) intracranial tumors in brain, meninges and cranial nerves diagnosed in Denmark between 1989 and 2014 and matched controls on age, sex and year of birth. We established personal 10-year mean residential outdoor exposure to particulate matter < 2.5 μm (PM_2.5), nitrous oxides (NO_X), primary emitted black carbon (BC) and ozone. We used conditional logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) linearly (per interquartile range (IQR)) and categorically. We accounted for personal income, employment, marital status, use of medication as well as socio-demographic conditions at area level.

RESULTS

Malignant tumors of the intracranial CNS was associated with BC (OR: 1.034, 95%CI: 1.005-1.065 per IQR. For NO_x the OR per IQR was 1.026 (95%CI: 0.998-1.056). For malignant non-glioma tumors of the brain we found associations with PM_2.5 (OR: 1.267, 95%CI: 1.053-1.524 per IQR), BC (OR: 1.049, 95%CI: 0.996-1.106) and NO_x (OR: 1.051, 95% CI: 0.996-1.110).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that air pollution is associated with malignant intracranial CNS tumors and malignant non-glioma of the brain. However, additional studies are needed.

Allergic conditions and risk of glioma and meningioma in the CERENAT case-control study

Inverse association between allergic conditions and glioma risk has been consistently reported in epidemiological studies with little attention paid to potential environmental confounders; the association with meningioma risk is less consistent. We examined the association between allergy history and risk of glioma and meningioma in adults using data from the CERENAT (CEREbral tumors: a NATional study) multicenter case-control study carried out in 4 areas in France in 2004-2010. Participants' histories of doctor-diagnosed allergic asthma, eczema, rhinitis/hay fever and other allergic conditions were collected at onset through a detailed questionnaire delivered in a face-to-face interview. Conditional logistic regression for matched sets was adjusted for participants' educational level and mobile phone use. A total of 273 glioma cases, 218 meningioma cases and 982 matched controls selected from the local electoral rolls were analyzed. A significant inverse association was found between glioma and a history of any allergy (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.36-0.75), with a dose-effect relationship with the number of allergic conditions reported (p-trend = 0.001) and a particularly strong association with hay fever/allergic rhinitis (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.30-0.72). Interestingly, associations with glioma risk were more pronounced in women. For meningioma, no association was observed with overall or specific allergic conditions. Our findings confirmed the inverse association between allergic conditions and glioma risk but questioned the role of allergy in meningioma risk. Future research is needed to clarify the biological mechanism of overall allergy and allergic rhinitis on glioma and to confirm the different effect by gender.

The INTEROCC case-control study: risk of meningioma and occupational exposure to selected combustion products, dusts and other chemical agents

BACKGROUND

Little is known about occupational risk factors for meningioma.

OBJECTIVES

To study whether risk of meningioma is associated with several occupational exposures, including selected combustion products, dusts and other chemical agents.

METHODS

The INTEROCC study was an international case-control study of brain cancer conducted in seven countries. Data collection by interview included lifetime occupational histories. A job exposure matrix was used to derive estimates of exposure for the 12 agents. ORs for ever versus never exposed and for exposure-response using duration of exposure and cumulative exposure were derived using conditional logistic regression stratified by sex, age group, country/region, adjusted for education.

RESULTS

These analyses included 1906 cases and 5565 controls. For 11 of the 12 agents, no excess risk was found for ever exposed. For ever exposure to oil mists, an elevated OR of 1.57 (95% CI 1.10 to 2.22, 51 exposed cases) was found. Statistically significant exposure-response relationships were observed with cumulative exposure (p=0.01) and duration of exposure (p=0.04). Among women, there were also significant trends for cumulative and duration of exposure to asbestos and excesses in the highest exposure categories for formaldehyde.

CONCLUSIONS

Most agents examined did not provoke excess risks of meningioma. The main finding from this study is that it is the first study to identify a statistical association between exposure to oil mists and meningioma. This may be a chance finding or could be due to confounding with iron exposure and further research is required to understand whether the relationship is causal.