CANCER RISK OF BABIES WHO ARE ‘TOO CLEAN’
Shock study claims exposure to bacteria key to preventing childhood leukaemia
CHILDHOOD leukaemia can develop when tots are not exposed to common germs.
Scientists found babies kept in environments that are too sterile were more at risk of the disease.
They said: “We should stop worrying about infections and encourage social interactions.”
EXPOSING children to everyday germs from a very young age could protect them against one of the most common forms of leukaemia, experts have revealed.
Scientists urged parents to let youngsters mix with others and not keep homes excessively clean in a bid to boost their immune systems.
A landmark study found at-risk babies not in contact with harmless bacteria in their first year are at risk of developing the cancer when they get an infection, sparking a devastating genetic mutation.
Lead author Professor Mel Greaves of the Institute of Cancer Research London insisted parents are “in no way to blame”.
He said: “But we should stop worrying about infection so much and encourage social interactions. They pick up priming infections from other children by sharing toys and so on.
“Children pass on bacteria. Many are common or harmless bugs. Infection was suspected of causing this cancer 100 years ago. The problem is not infection, the problem is lack of infection.”
In fact the UK saw a huge increase in cases between 1925 and 1950 as wealth increased, families became smaller and environments became more sterile.
Experts studying 30 years of research into acute lymphoblastic leukaemia found 5% of babies are born with a “pre-leukaemia” genetic mutation. Only one in 100 of those will get ALL, which affects 500 children a year in Britain.
Those not in contact with bacteria are more at risk of a second mutation when struck down by an infection, which can then lead to ALL, the study said.
Being exposed to common germs, found on skin, in soil, dust and water, helps add protective bacteria to a child’s gut microbiome in its first year.
The bugs play a crucial role regulating everything from body weight and the immune system to emotions.
Prof Greaves found mice born with the mutation then exposed to a bacteria were more likely to develop leukaemia.
He added: “The research strongly suggests it has a clear biological cause, and is triggered by a variety of infections in predisposed children whose immune systems have not been properly primed.”
The study identified four factors that reduced the risk of babies born with the mutation developing leukaemia – attending day care centres, breastfeeding, older siblings and vaginal births.
One in three child cancers is leukaemia and the chances of a baby developing it are one in 2,000. Cancer Research UK says about 105 youngsters die each year.
Match of the Day pundit Gary Lineker’s son George battled the disease as a child in the early 90s. Now 26, he defied the odds to survive – after his parents were told three times he would not survive the night.