שנת סיום: 2014
כותרת עבודת הדוקטורט: ההשפעה של תזונה וחשיפות נוספות בינקות והסיכון ללקות בליקמיה ולימפומה בילדות
מנחה: פרופ' ליטל קינן בוקר
In the last 30 years there has been an increase of 0.9% each year in the incidence rate of childhood cancer in the western world, and although the 5 year survival rate from childhood cancer has increased significantly over the years due to advancement in treatment technologies, cancer is still one of the leading causes of death among children – the second leading cause in the US among 1-14 year olds, and the third leading cause among young Israelis aged 0-24.
Leukemia and lymphoma are two of the most common cancer types in children and account together for about 45% of all childhood cancers. This study looks into infant nutrition, focusing on one of the most important and influential factors among young children – breastfeeding or lack of it, while also looking into other important environmental exposures that have been found in former studies to affect the risk for childhood leukemia and lymphoma as part of the “infective agent theory” such as attending day care and environmental diversity.
Although similar studies were conducted around the world in the past 20 years, such a study has never been done in Israel. There is need for similar studies in various countries with different population & socio economic attributes to help find an answer to a still debatable public health question. Israel offers a unique opportunity to examine the matter in a population that is in most part has a highly westernized modern life combined with high parity and higher breastfeeding rates.
The hypothesis of the study, that breastfeeding lowers the risk of childhood leukemia and lymphoma, was addressed by conducting a case control study focusing on mothers of Israeli children and teens who were diagnosed with childhood leukemia and lymphoma aged 1-19 (prevalent cases) in 2005-13, and were treated in a hematological department of a major Israeli hospital. The study includes parents to 190 children diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma and to 382 controls, chosen from the children’s home community. Five major hospitals: Rambam, Dana, Tel Hashomer, Hadassah Ein-Kerem & Soroka are participating in the study. Their cooperation offers a unique possibility to include the diverse population of Israel.
The results of this study have important implications for public health, since the primary goal of public health is prevention of morbidity, and primary prevention is the most effective form of prevention. Breastfeeding offers public health a highly-accessible and a very low cost tool to prevent serious illness in children worldwide.