The background for this project is our lack of knowledge about the causes of childhood cancer.
Abstract:
It is speculated that infections in pregnancy may increase the risk of cancer in the baby, either directly via the transmission of the virus to the fetus, or indirectly via signs of inflammation. To clarify this question, we can use the swine flu epidemic in Norway in the autumn of 2009 as a kind of natural experiment, by comparing children born before and after the epidemic with children where the mother was exposed to the epidemic while she was pregnant. This is a simple registry study with a link between the birth registry and the cancer registry. If we find a connection, it is relevant to proceed with in-depth studies.
