Minor anomalies in childhood lymphomas and solid tumors.

BACKGROUND: Despite the presence of reports on correlation between major congenital defects and cancer, very few studies have investigated the frequency of minor anomalies in childhood malignancy. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of minor anomalies in children with lymphoma and solid tumors. PROCEDURE: A total of 281 well-defined minor anomalies were determined in 116 patients. The patients were compared with age-matched and sex-matched healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Concerning the cumulative data, 87.9% (102/116) of the patients and 37.9% (44/116) of the controls had at least 1 minor anomaly (P < 0.05). A total of 281 minor anomalies (2.42 per subject) were noted in the patient group, whereas 41 (0.35 per subject) were noted in the control group (P < 0.05). The eye, ear, mouth, hand, and feet anomalies were statistically higher in the patient group than the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results contribute to the understanding of the role of genetic factors in childhood cancer. Future studies might be directed toward identifying the developmental pathways and the relevant genes that are involved in relation to childhood cancer and minor anomalies.