Leukemia among children in a suburban community

Abstract

Between 1957 and 1960 eight cases of leukemia occurred among children living in one residential area of Niles, Illinois. Seven of these eight children were from Roman Catholic families, and each of these seven either attended or had older siblings who attended the community's one parochial elementary school. These cases constituted a significantly increased incidence of leukemia in children for this town, and their association with a single school exceeded chance expectation. The eight cases occurred within two separate periods of time, and were accompanied by a “rheumatic-like” illness among pupils in the same parochial school. Within this same community, cases of leukemia in adults and of cancers other than leukemia in children were found limited to Roman Catholic families, four of whom lived within a single block area. An unusual childhood mortality associated with congenital heart disease was observed in which cases were also limited to Roman Catholic families. Consolidation in the parochial school and rapid population expansion in the community may have been contributing factors in this unusual occurrence of leukemia. Although the exact cause of these cases was not identified, their association with one particular school, the time pattern of their occurrence and the parallel appearance of a “rheumatic-like” illness suggest an etiologic relationship to infection.