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Height at diagnosis and birth-weight as risk factors for osteosarcoma

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Abstract

Objectives

Osteosarcoma typically occurs during puberty. Studies of the association between height and/or birth-weight and osteosarcoma are conflicting. Therefore, we conducted a large pooled analysis of height and birth-weight in osteosarcoma.

Methods

Patient data from seven studies of height and three of birth-weight were obtained, resulting in 1,067 cases with height and 434 cases with birth-weight data. We compared cases to the 2000 US National Center for Health Statistics Growth Charts by simulating 1,000 age- and gender-matched controls per case. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between height or birth-weight and risk of osteosarcoma for each study were estimated using logistic regression. All of the case data were combined for an aggregate analysis.

Results

Compared to average birth-weight subjects (2,665–4,045 g), individuals with high birth-weight (≥4,046 g) had an increased osteosarcoma risk (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.01–1.79). Taller than average (51st–89th percentile) and very tall individuals (≥90th percentile) had an increased risk of osteosarcoma (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.18–1.54 and OR 2.60, 95% CI 2.19–3.07, respectively; P trend < 0.0001).

Conclusions

This is the largest analysis of height at diagnosis and birth-weight in relation to osteosarcoma. It suggests that rapid bone growth during puberty and in utero contributes to OS etiology.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics and the Center for Cancer Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Lisa Mirabello, Ruth Pfeiffer, Gwen Murphy, Rebecca J. Troisi, Robert N. Hoover & Sharon A. Savage

  2. Department of Oncology, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee, College of Medicine, Memphis, TN, USA

    Najat C. Daw

  3. Department of PediatricsLaboratory of Pediatrics, Pediatric Oncology Unit, University Clinic of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

    Ana Patiño-Garcia

  4. Department of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH, USA

    Rebecca J. Troisi

  5. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Chester Douglass

  6. Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Joachim Schüz

  7. Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

    Joachim Schüz

  8. Department of Child Health, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Alan W. Craft

  9. Clinical Genetics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, 6120 Executive Blvd., EPS/7101, Rockville, MD, 20852, USA

    Lisa Mirabello

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  1. Lisa Mirabello
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Correspondence to Lisa Mirabello.

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Mirabello, L., Pfeiffer, R., Murphy, G. et al. Height at diagnosis and birth-weight as risk factors for osteosarcoma. Cancer Causes Control 22, 899–908 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9763-2

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