Prenatal Vitamins May Reduce Risk Of Brain Tumors In Children

"Prenatal Vitamins May Reduce Risk Of Brain Tumors In Children",
Medical News Today, September 22, 2006,
Link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medi...p?newsid=52447

Women who take multivitamins early in pregnancy may reduce the risk
that their child will develop some types of brain tumors.

Public health agencies already urge pregnant women to take
multivitamins that contain folic acid early in pregnancy to reduce
their fetus's risk of developing a neural tube defect such as spina
bifida. "This current study suggests another possible protective effect
for the vitamins," said study leader Greta R. Bunin, Ph.D., of The
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She added, "Children whose mothers
took multivitamins close to the time of conception seemed less likely
to suffer medulloblastoma and primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the
brain."

While childhood brain tumors are, fortunately, relatively rare,
medulloblastoma is the second most common brain tumor in children.
Occurring in one in 20,000 children under age six, it appears in the
cerebellum, the lower portion of the brain, and the area of the brain
that coordinates movement. Primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the
brain (PNET) are similar to medulloblastoma but occur in other parts of
the central nervous system.

Dr. Bunin led a study comparing 315 children diagnosed with those
tumors before age six to 315 randomly chosen healthy children. The
children with cancer, all of whom were diagnosed between 1991 and 1997,
were registered in the Children's Oncology Group, a multicenter
collaborative organization of pediatric cancer programs in the U.S. and
Canada.

The researchers questioned the mothers in a telephone survey. The study
appears in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers &
Prevention.

The protective effect of the multivitamins taken early in pregnancy was
weakly significant, but because it was similar to previous, more
statistically significant findings by Dr. Bunin's team in 1993, the
authors conclude the apparent benefit is unlikely to have occurred by
chance.

The researchers found that taking multivitamins later in pregnancy did
not significantly reduce the child's risk of medulloblastoma and PNET.
"Our findings suggest that the time close to conception may be a
critical period in the development of these tumors," said Dr. Bunin.
"However, most women do not yet know they are pregnant at this very
early stage. That is why women of reproductive age are advised to take
multivitamins to prevent neural tube defects even if they are not
trying to get pregnant."

In terms of a possible risk factor, the researchers also questioned
mothers about how frequently they ate cured meats, such as ham, hot
dogs, lunch meat, sausages and smoked fish. Although those foods
contain compounds shown to cause nervous system tumors in animals, Dr.
Bunin's team found no increased risk of brain tumors in children whose
mothers frequently ate those meats while pregnant.

"Taking multivitamins in the first few weeks of pregnancy definitely
helps prevent neural tube defects," concluded Dr. Bunin. "While more
research remains to be done, our findings suggest that multivitamins
may prevent some brain tumors as well."

The National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of
Health, supported this research. Dr. Bunin's co-authors were Paul R.
Gallagher, Lucy B. Rorke-Adams, M.D., and Avital Cnaan, Ph.D., all of
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as Leslie R. Robison,
Ph.D., of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn. Drs.
Bunin and Cnaan also are faculty members of the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital

of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric
hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional
patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare
professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's
Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children
worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the
country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In
addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs
have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for
children and adolescents. For more information, visit
http://www.chop.edu.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia http://www.chop.edu