Pregnancy and the first months of life are critical periods during which fundamental changes occur that can influence a person’s health throughout their lifetime. This phenomenon, known as fetal and perinatal programming, helps explain how certain experiences and conditions during the earliest stages of development may increase or decrease the risk of developing diseases later in life.
Building on this concept, we investigated whether factors related to pregnancy and birth could influence the development of neuroblastic tumors, a type of childhood cancer that arises from embryonic cells of the developing nervous system.
To address this question, we analyzed data from children diagnosed with these tumors between 2005 and 2013 at several hospitals in the Spanish Mediterranean region. In addition to the patients’ clinical and biological characteristics, the study focused on mothers’ experiences during pregnancy, particularly those associated with stressful life events.
In our study Pediatric Blood & Cancer, we highlighted that, in childhood cancer, biological factors may interact with social and cultural determinants of health. Understanding the origins of these diseases therefore requires a broader perspective that considers not only genetic and environmental factors but also the social circumstances surrounding affected families.
Our findings suggested a possible association between maternal stress during pregnancy and an increased risk of neuroblastic tumors in offspring. We emphasized that potentially important stressors, such as the death or diagnosis of a serious illness in a close family member or employment insecurity, may have a substantial impact on the emotional well-being of many pregnant women.
Furthermore, because we identified a higher prevalence of certain congenital anomalies among children who were later diagnosed with neuroblastoma, we recognized the need to improve the collection of pregnancy and perinatal information in medical records. To address this, we developed new tools to record these data more systematically and accurately. Achieving this goal requires close collaboration among pediatric oncologists, obstetricians, epidemiologists, social scientists, and public health professionals.
We also underscored the importance of incorporating public involvement and societal representation into biomedical research, as they can help identify risk factors that often go unnoticed and improve the quality and completeness of the data collected.
Although further studies are needed to confirm these findings, this research opens new avenues for understanding the origins of neuroblastic tumors and for advancing more comprehensive strategies for their prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Considering biological, social, and environmental factors from the earliest stages of life may be key to improving outcomes and offering a more hopeful future for children affected by these diseases and their families.
Department of Pathology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
INCLIVA Health Research Institute, Valencia, Spain.
Network Biomedical Research Center on Cancer (CIBERONC), Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), Spain.