Parental diet and risk of retinoblastoma resulting from new germline RB1 mutation

We conducted a case–control study of sporadic bilateral retinoblastoma, which results from a new germline RB1 mutation, to investigate the role of parents\u27 diet before their child\u27s conception. Parents of 206 cases from nine North American institutions and 269 controls participated; of these, fathers of 184 cases and 223 controls and mothers of 204 cases and 260 controls answered a food frequency questionnaire administered by phone about their diet in the year before the child\u27s conception. Cases provided DNA for RB1 mutation testing. We assessed parents\u27 diet by examining 19 food groups. Father\u27s intake of dairy products and fruit was associated with decreased risk and cured meats and sweets with increased risk. Mother\u27s intake was not associated with disease for any food group. Considering analyses adjusted for the other food groups significantly associated with disease, energy intake, and demographic characteristics as well as more fully adjusted models, the associations with father\u27s dairy products and cured meat intake were the most robust. In the fully adjusted, matched analysis, the odds ratios per daily serving were 0.70 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49–1.00, P = 0.047) for dairy products and 5.05 (CI 1.46–17.51, P = 0.01) for cured meat. The pattern of associations with paternal but not maternal diet is consistent with the fact that 85% of new germline RB1 mutations occur on the father\u27s allele. As few human data exist on the role of diet in any condition resulting from new germ-cell mutation, additional studies will be needed to replicate or refute our findings. Environ. Mol. Mutagen