Breastfeeding and acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a middle-income country: a Mexican perspective

Objective. It has been reported that breastfeeding for 6 and 12 months reduced 20% and 27% of the risk of childhood leukemia, respectively. We present the results of a case–control study about breastfeeding and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-cell ALL) risk in a Mexican pediatric population. Patients and methods. We conducted a case–control study, and a 20-question survey was applied to the patient’s parents. A patient was considered to have been nursed if they received at least 1 month of breastfeeding. For the control group, patients who attended our hospital’s Healthy Child Care Clinic were consecutively selected. Results. The absence of breastfeeding was associated with an odds ratios (OR) of 2.7 for the further development of B-cell ALL. For the subsequent presence of malignancy, the group with 0-1 month of lactation showed an OR of 3.1 compared to the group with more than 6 months of breastfeeding. Conclusions. In the present study, the absence of breastfeeding in our population was associated with an increased risk for the further development of B-cell ALL. Furthermore, it was found that a lower risk for later development of B-cell ALL in their offspring was associated with a lower maternal age