Brain Tumors May be Infectious

[TechBear_Seattle]

The title of the article is a tad misleading, sorry.

Brain Tumors May be Infectious

Older children often think younger siblings are a headache, but sobering findings reveal the chances of a child developing a brain tumor and cancer elsewhere in the nervous system increase with the more younger brothers and sisters one has.

The finding suggests infectious agents might play a role in causing these cancers.

The researchers analyzed more than 13,000 cases of nervous system tumors in Sweden, data collected over the course of more than 70 years. They found people with four or more siblings were twice as likely to develop such tumors as people with no siblings.

The investigators also found there was a two- to four-fold increase in nervous system tumor rates among children younger than 15 who had three or more younger siblings compared to children of the same age who had no younger siblings. They did not see a link between the number of older siblings a person had and these tumors.

The full article can be read at http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20061212/sc_livescience/braintumorsmaybeinfectious

[Deep13]

1. Do viruses cause everything?

We know now that most uterine cancers are caused by a virus.

[ananda]

2. hmm

I have seven younger siblings.

Maybe that explains it... a memory like teflon...
but no tumors. Lucky I guess.

[SharonAnn]

3. Hmm, I have seven younger siblings also. No tumors yet!