Literature Review: Breastfeeding's Protective Effects Against Leukemia

This literature review explores the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood leukemia, a critical topic in healthcare research. The review synthesizes findings from multiple studies, including randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses, to assess the potential protective effects of breastfeeding against leukemia. Key studies, such as those by Amitay et al. (2016), Ajrouche et al. (2015), and Amitay & Keinan-Boker (2015), are examined to identify the impact of breastfeeding duration on leukemia risk, the role of immune stimulation, and the presence of immune-promoting compounds in breast milk. The review highlights the importance of breastfeeding for more than six months, discussing its potential to reduce the likelihood of being affected by leukemia by promoting a healthy microbiome and enhancing the immune system. The references include studies that support the evidence-based practice of breastfeeding, as well as the importance of communicating the findings of such studies to parents effectively.

Effects of
breastfeeding on
leukemia
Name of the Student
Name of the University

Introduction
 Evidence based practice refers to the approach that
helps in effective clinical decision making skills related to
the delivery of superior quality healthcare services to the
clients (LoBiondo-Wood, Haber, Berry & Yost, 2013).
 Purpose- Research on the issue of childhood leukemia
and establishment of its link with breast feeding
 Hypothesis- Breast feeding has the capability of reducing
likelihood of childhood leukemia
 Cancer that creates an impact on bone marrow and
blood is called leukemia
 It leads to the abnormal elevation in the production of
lymphocytes and WBCs
 Common symptoms of leukaemia include chills or fever,
losing weight, severe infections, weakens, bruising,
nosebleeds, sweating, tenderness, pain in bones, and
swelling in the lymph nodes.

Literature
review
 Amitay, Dubnov and Keinan-Boker (2016) have aimed to identify the
association between breast feeding and childhood leukemia and used
randomized control trial with 384 participants and found that due to poor
nutritious condition the risk of infectious disease increases among children
because of their poor immune system which may lead to the risk of
leukemia.
 Ajrouche et al. (2015) has conducted a research using national registry-
based case–control study. The study has been carried out in France and
617 ALL and 1225 controls aged 1 year have been recruited. The study
investigated the childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia and immune
stimulation and identified the effectiveness of breast feeding in such case.
 Rudant et al. (2015) has conducted a research using international
consortium study which aimed to identify the immune stimulation during
childhood leukemia. The study has included 7,399 ALL cases and 11,181
controls aged between 2-14 year and recommended that findings of the
study required to be communicated with the parents in an effective
manner
 Amitay and Keinan-Boker (2015) have examined the effectiveness of
breast feeding for reducing the risk of leukemia among children. In this
regards the authors have included meta-analysis of 17 studies which
examined 9650 cases of leukemia and identified that breast feeding for 6
months or more than that has reduced the risk of leukemia by 20% as
compared to the cases where breast feeding was not done.

Conclusion
 Breastfeeding a child for more than six months can
act as an effective strategy in reducing the likelihood
of being affected with leukemia.
 Breast milk has also demonstrated an increase in the
proportion of natural killer cells that help the immune
system to gain more maturity.
 Presence of immune-promoting and anti-inflammatory
compounds in mother’s milk help in development of a
healthy microbiome and enhanced immune system

References
Amitay, E. L., Dubnov Raz, G., & Keinan-Boker, L. (2016). Breastfeeding, other early life Exposures and childhood leukemia and lymphoma. Nutrition and
cancer, 68(6), 968-977. https://doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2016.1190020
Ajrouche, R., Rudant, J., Orsi, L., Petit, A., Baruchel, A., Lambilliotte, A., ... & Gandemer, V. (2015). Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and indicators of
early immune stimulation: the Estelle study (SFCE). British journal of cancer, 112(6), 1017. https://www.nature.com/articles/bjc201553
Amitay, E. L., & Keinan-Boker, L. (2015). Breastfeeding and childhood leukemia incidence: a meta-analysis and systematic review. JAMA pediatrics, 169(6),
e151025-e151025. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1025
Bridgman, S. L., Konya, T., Azad, M. B., Sears, M. R., Becker, A. B., Turvey, S. E., ... & Kozyrskyj, A. L. (2016). Infant gut immunity: a preliminary study of IgA
associations with breastfeeding. Journal of developmental origins of health and disease, 7(1), 68-72. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2040174415007862
Furman, R. R., Sharman, J. P., Coutre, S. E., Cheson, B. D., Pagel, J. M., Hillmen, P., ... & Ghia, P. (2014). Idelalisib and rituximab in relapsed chronic lymphocytic
leukemia. New England Journal of Medicine, 370(11), 997-1007. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1315226
Hanoun, M., Zhang, D., Mizoguchi, T., Pinho, S., Pierce, H., Kunisaki, Y., ... & Frenette, P. S. (2014). Acute myelogenous leukemia-induced sympathetic neuropathy
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Kutty, P. K. (2016). Breastfeeding counsel against cancers. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 6(5), 422-428.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjtb.2015.12.021
LoBiondo-Wood, G., Haber, J., Berry, C., & Yost, J. (2013). Study Guide for Nursing Research-E-Book: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice.
Elsevier Health Sciences. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&
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%20based%20practice&f=false
Rudant, J., Lightfoot, T., Urayama, K. Y., Petridou, E., Dockerty, J. D., Magnani, C., ... & Kang, A. Y. (2015). Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and indicators
of early immune stimulation: a Childhood Leukemia International Consortium study. American journal of epidemiology, 181(8), 549-562. https://
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Schultz, K. R., Carroll, A., Heerema, N. A., Bowman, W. P., Aledo, A., Slayton, W. B., ... & Gaynon, P. S. (2014). Long-term follow-up of imatinib in pediatric
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Victora, C. G., Bahl, R., Barros, A. J., França, G. V., Horton, S., Krasevec, J., ... & Group, T. L. B. S. (2016). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology,
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Whitehead, T. P., Metayer, C., Wiemels, J. L., Singer, A. W., & Miller, M. D. (2016). Childhood leukemia and primary prevention. Current problems in pediatric and
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