FREITAS, M. A.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0450574220441123; FREITAS, Marina Alves.
Resumo:
Childhood brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer death in
children and, in addition to some genetic syndromes and ionizing radiation, their
etiology is largely unknown. Parental smoking, which is relatively frequent, could play
a role in tumorigenesis of cancer of the central nervous system and requires further
exploration. OBJECTIVE: To observe whether there is an association between
prenatal exposure to parental smoking and the occurrence of brain tumors in
childhood. METHODS: Systematic review with data from cohort and case-control
studies on prenatal exposure to smoking and brain tumors in childhood using the
descriptors: "tumores cerebrais", "gravidez", "tabagismo" and their correspondents in
English, in the Virtual Databases: LILACS, MEDLINE, PubMed and Scielo in the
Portuguese, English and Spanish languages. RESULTS: There were no or weak
association between childhood brain tumors and maternal smoking, being seen greater
influence only in children less than 24 months and between 5 and 9 years of age.
Astrocytomas and the male sex were the most involved after stratification. Another
more significant association was observed among children with brain tumors whose
parents smoked within one year before birth and during gestation, regardless of the
number of cigarettes smoked per day. This relationship was even greater when
analyzed in age groups of children younger than 4 years. Again, astrocytoma was the
most strongly associated histologic type. Already the consumption of more than 15
cigarettes a day implied in the increased risk for ependymomas and embryonic tumors.
CONCLUSION: There was a greater risk of developing childhood brain tumors through
paternal smoking, to the detriment of the maternal, which may point to the possibility
of paternal smoking act not only in the exposure of the fetus to passive smoking but
also as inducer of epigenetic changes in human sperm.