Frontiers in Oncology (Feb 2024)

Evidence of spatial clustering of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases in Greater Mexico City: report from the Mexican Inter-Institutional Group for the identification of the causes of childhood leukemia

  • David Aldebarán Duarte-Rodríguez,
  • Janet Flores-Lujano,
  • Richard J. Q. McNally,
  • María Luisa Pérez-Saldivar,
  • Elva Jiménez-Hernández,
  • Jorge Alfonso Martín-Trejo,
  • Laura Eugenia Espinoza-Hernández,
  • Aurora Medina-Sanson,
  • Rogelio Paredes-Aguilera,
  • Laura Elizabeth Merino-Pasaye,
  • Martha Margarita Velázquez-Aviña,
  • José Refugio Torres-Nava,
  • Rosa Martha Espinosa-Elizondo,
  • Raquel Amador-Sánchez,
  • Juan José Dosta-Herrera,
  • Javier Anastacio Mondragón-García,
  • Juana Esther González-Ulibarri,
  • Sofía Irene Martínez-Silva,
  • Gilberto Espinoza-Anrubio,
  • María Minerva Paz-Bribiesca,
  • Perla Salcedo-Lozada,
  • Rodolfo Ángel Landa-García,
  • Rosario Ramírez-Colorado,
  • Luis Hernández-Mora,
  • Marlene Santamaría-Ascencio,
  • Anselmo López-Loyola,
  • Arturo Hermilo Godoy-Esquivel,
  • Luis Ramiro García-López,
  • Alison Ireri Anguiano-Ávalos,
  • Karina Mora-Rico,
  • Alejandro Castañeda-Echevarría,
  • Roberto Rodríguez-Jiménez,
  • José Alberto Cibrian-Cruz,
  • Karina Anastacia Solís-Labastida,
  • Rocío Cárdenas-Cardos,
  • Norma López-Santiago,
  • Luz Victoria Flores-Villegas,
  • José Gabriel Peñaloza-González,
  • Ana Itamar González-Ávila,
  • Martin Sánchez-Ruiz,
  • Roberto Rivera-Luna,
  • Luis Rodolfo Rodríguez-Villalobos,
  • Francisco Hernández-Pérez,
  • Jaime Ángel Olvera-Durán,
  • Luis Rey García-Cortés,
  • Minerva Mata-Rocha,
  • Omar Alejandro Sepúlveda-Robles,
  • Vilma Carolina Bekker-Méndez,
  • Silvia Jiménez-Morales,
  • Jorge Meléndez-Zajgla,
  • Haydée Rosas-Vargas,
  • Elizabeth Vega,
  • Juan Carlos Núñez-Enríquez,
  • Juan Carlos Núñez-Enríquez,
  • Juan Manuel Mejía-Aranguré,
  • Juan Manuel Mejía-Aranguré

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2024.1304633
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

Read online

BackgroundA heterogeneous geographic distribution of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases has been described, possibly, related to the presence of different environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to explore the geographical distribution of childhood ALL cases in Greater Mexico City (GMC).MethodsA population-based case-control study was conducted. Children <18 years old, newly diagnosed with ALL and residents of GMC were included. Controls were patients without leukemia recruited from second-level public hospitals, frequency-matched by sex, age, and health institution with the cases. The residence address where the patients lived during the last year before diagnosis (cases) or the interview (controls) was used for geolocation. Kulldorff’s spatial scan statistic was used to detect spatial clusters (SCs). Relative risks (RR), associated p-value and number of cases included for each cluster were obtained.ResultsA total of 1054 cases with ALL were analyzed. Of these, 408 (38.7%) were distributed across eight SCs detected. A relative risk of 1.61 (p<0.0001) was observed for the main cluster. Similar results were noted for the remaining seven ones. Additionally, a proximity between SCs, electrical installations and petrochemical facilities was observed.ConclusionsThe identification of SCs in certain regions of GMC suggest the possible role of environmental factors in the etiology of childhood ALL.

Keywords