Possible interaction between ionizing radiation, smoking, and gender in the causation of meningioma

Pazit Flint-Richter, Lori Mandelzweig, Bernice Oberman, Siegal Sadetzki*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Data on the association between smoking and meningioma are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess the role of smoking in radiation- and non-radiation- related meningiomas. The study was designed as a 4-group case-control study, balanced for irradiation, including 160 irradiated meningioma case patients, 145 irradiated control subjects, 82 nonirradiated case patients, and 135 nonirradiated control subjects. The sources of these groups included a cohort of individuals who underwent radiotherapy (mean dose, 1.5 Gy to the brain) during childhood for treatment of tinea capitis, claims filed for radiation damage in the framework of a compensation law, and the Israel Cancer Registry. All tests of statistical significance were 2-sided. A statistically significantly elevated risk of meningioma was found among men who had ever smoked, compared with those who were never smokers (odds ratio [OR], 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-4.15), increasing with smoking pack-years from 1.67 to 2.69 for <10 to >20 pack-years, respectively. Among women, an interaction between radiation and smoking was observed, expressed by a significant protective efect for meningioma (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.14-0.77), with a strong dose-response association (P < .01) in nonirradiated women and a nonsignificant increased risk of meningioma among those who were irradiated (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 0.68-2.23). Variation in the association between smoking and meningioma may be explained by effects of distinct host factors, such as past exposure to ionizing radiation and/or hormonal factors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)345-352
Number of pages8
JournalNeuro-Oncology
Volume13
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2011

Keywords

  • Ionizing radiation
  • Meningioma
  • Smoking

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