Cancer risk to unborn, says expert

MOST childhood cancers are probably caused by exposure to pollutants while babies are in the womb, a researcher claimed yesterday.

Professor George Knox said pre-natal exposure to industrial and environmental pollutants, most likely to have been inhaled by the mother during pregnancy, were probably to blame for the majority of cancers in children aged under 16.

He said the most dangerous pollutants were produced by industry or transport and these should be targeted in attempts to reduce childhood cancers.

But Cancer Research UK said the evidence was “very thin”. Around 1,500 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed each year in Britain, accounting for around 300 deaths annually.

Professor Knox, emeritus professor at the University of Birmingham, analysed maps showing chemical emissions for Britain alongside details of children dying from cancer before their 16th birthday between 1966 and 1980.

There is little conclusive evidence about the causes of most childhood cancers.

The results were published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.