Male Sex and the Risk of Childhood Cancer: The Mediating Effect of Birth Defects.
Erin L MarcotteJeremy M SchrawTania A DesrosiersWendy N NembhardPeter H LangloisMark A CanfieldRobert E MeyerSharon E PlonPhilip J LupoPublished in: JNCI cancer spectrum (2020)
Our results suggest that birth defects mediate a statistically significant proportion of the relationship between sex and childhood cancer. The proportion mediated varied by cancer type and diagnosis age. These findings improve our understanding of the causal pathway underlying male sex as a risk factor for childhood cancer.