Breastfeeding and the risk of childhood cancer: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to quantitatively summarize the available evidence on the association of breastfeeding with the risk of childhood cancer. METHODS: A literature search of PubMed and Embase databases was performed to identify eligible observational studies published from inception to July 17, 2020. The categorical and dose-response meta-analysis was conducted by pooling relative risk (RR) or odds ratio (OR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Potential sources of heterogeneity were detected by meta-regression and stratification analysis. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias test were also carried out. RESULTS: Forty-five articles involving 475,579 individuals were included in the meta-analysis. Among the thirty-three studies on the association between breastfeeding and risk of childhood leukemia, the pooled risk estimates were 0.77 (95% CI, 0.65–0.91) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.63–0.94) for ever versus non/occasional breastfeeding and longest versus shortest breastfeeding duration group, respectively. There was clear indication for non-linear dose-response relationship between breastfeeding duration and the risk of childhood leukemia (P non-linear < 0.001). The most protective effect (OR, 0.66, 95% CI 0.62–0.70) was observed at a breastfeeding duration of 9.6 months. Four studies examined, the association between breastfeeding and risk of childhood neuroblastoma, and significant inverse associations were consistently observed in both the comparisons of ever breastfeeding versus non/occasional breastfeeding (OR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.44–0.81) and longest versus shortest breastfeeding (OR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.44–0.83). However, no associations of breastfeeding with risk of other cancers were found. CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports a protective role of breastfeeding on the risk of childhood leukemia, also suggesting a non-linear dose-response relationship. Further studies are warranted to confirm the association between breastfeeding and risk of childhood neuroblastoma. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12916-021-01950-5.