MONTH-OF-BIRTH AND INCIDENCE OF ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC-LEUKEMIA IN CHILDREN

As a means of examining the virus-relatedness of acute lymphoblastic l eukemia (ALL) in children, we investigated the association between mon th-of-birth and the occurrence of ALL in 1487 children aged 0-15 years at the time of diagnosis. Our hypothesis being that evidence of seaso nal variation in births of ALL cases would suggest exposure to a trans missible etiologic agent during the perinatal period. The data were ob tained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Pro gram and consisted of children diagnosed during the years 1973-1986. A ggregate monthly incidence rates of ALL stratified by month-of-birth, for each SEER site, all sites combined, and for broad geographic regio ns were calculated. No evidence for an association between month-of-bi rth and childhood ALL was found.