Mom’s pre-existing diabetes tied to baby’s cancer risk

Pre-existing diabetes in mothers, but not that which developed during pregnancy, appears to contribute to a heightened risk of childhood cancer in the offspring, particularly acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Of the 22 articles included, 16 were case-control studies (including a total of 23,015 cancer cases and 3,974,960 controls) while the remaining six were cohort studies (with sample sizes ranging from 8,839 to 1,226,515).

Most studies (n=15) evaluated a single cancer site, and seven studies looked at the overall childhood cancer risk in offspring. In terms of maternal diabetes, the majority of studies (n=17) defined it according to birth registries or medical records while five used self-report methods.

Pooled data revealed that children born to diabetic mothers were at higher risk of childhood malignancy (odds ratio [OR], 1.30, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.10–1.53). Notably, this association was evident among women with pre-existing diabetes (OR, 1.41, 95 percent CI, 1.17–1.70) but not among those with gestational diabetes (OR, 1.10, 95 percent CI, 0.94–1.28).

For site-specific cancers, maternal diabetes was strongly associated with leukaemia in offspring (OR, 1.30, 95 percent CI, 1.15–1.48), especially acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (OR, 1.44, 95 percent CI, 1.27–1.64). There were no significant associations seen for lymphomas and retinoblastoma.

More studies are needed to explore the underlying biological mechanisms behind the association, according to the investigators.