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A large US study has pinpointed Latina US born children are at higher risk of retinoblastoma. The tumour of the retina ( malignant ) commonly occurs in infants under six years old.
The focal point was on babies in California, and in addition to the findings it was also reported that children of older fathers and those born to women with STD's or born in mutiple births were at greater risk, suggesting an increase in risk from IVF.
Data was taken from the California Cancer Registry of all retinoblastoma cases reported between 1988 to 2007, allowing for a sizeable cross section of the population including many Latinas.
Within the Latina section it was interestingly found that there was lower risk among mothers who were Mexican born and then had their children in the United States. This is believed to be due to a healthier lifestyle in the perinatal period immediately before and after delivery.
A poor diet, patients that smoke and drink during pregnancy are all serious contributing factors to the risks of retinoblastoma. Immigrant women born in rural Mexico were found to keep healthier diets and all round lifestyle in comparison to US born Latina women, which may be linked to the lower risk of the disease in their offspring.
Retinoblastoma causes are still not determined but it is the result of the mutation or loss of both alleles of the RB1 tumor suppressor gene. Hereditary cases are counted at about 40 percent and most of these present as bilateral disease.