Survey finds link between drug/cannabis use during pregnancy and certain childhood cancers

Whereas the dangers of drug use, smoking and ingesting throughout being pregnant are extensively accepted, a brand new survey of fogeys has recognized clear associations between sure forms of childhood cancers and gestational substance use, notably hashish.

The research—led by Duke Well being and showing within the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention—provides specificity to the potential harms of drug and alcohol use throughout pregnancy. Findings come at a time when hashish use has risen, usually as a treatment for extreme morning illness and nausea.

“Alcohol and tobacco use throughout being pregnant has declined, however gestational hashish use has risen within the final decade,” mentioned lead writer Kyle Walsh, Ph.D., affiliate professor within the departments of Neurosurgery, Pathology, Pediatrics, and Inhabitants Well being Sciences at Duke College College of Drugs.

“The psychoactive compounds of hashish are able to crossing the placental barrier and will intervene with regular neuronal improvement within the fetal mind,” Walsh mentioned. “We examined fifteen various kinds of childhood most cancers and recognized an affiliation that was fairly particular to cancers of the central nervous system.”

Walsh and colleagues surveyed mother and father of kids who had been identified with most cancers earlier than their 18th birthday. The mother and father had been requested to remember whether or not mothers used tobacco, alcohol, and/or illicit medication throughout being pregnant. Respondents from 3,145 households, of which 92% recognized because the kid’s organic mom, accomplished the survey.

About 14% of households reported gestational use of tobacco merchandise, 4% reported utilizing illicit drugs corresponding to marijuana or cocaine, and a pair of% reported ingesting greater than a reasonable quantity of alcohol. Though hashish use was not analyzed individually, the survey particularly referenced marijuana as a class of illicit drug, and marijuana has been documented as essentially the most generally used illicit substance throughout being pregnant.

Prenatal illicit drug use was related to an elevated prevalence of tumors of the central nervous system, together with medulloblastomas and supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, or PNETS, in addition to a type of eye cancer known as retinoblastoma.

Reasonable to heavy alcohol consumption was strongly related to the elevated prevalence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Maternal tobacco smoking throughout being pregnant was related to lowered new child birthweight however not with an elevated threat of particular cancers.

“We hope that our findings can promote elevated provider-patient dialogs in regards to the potential results of prenatal substance use, and hashish use specifically,” Walsh mentioned. “This has implications for public health messaging. We additionally stress the necessity for additional analysis into the danger–profit profile of cannabis use amongst expectant moms.”

Walsh mentioned the dangers needs to be weighed appropriately, with completely different issues for sufferers that suffer from extreme morning illness vs. those that use cannabis recreationally.