Risk Factors
Anything that increases your risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean that you will get cancer; not having risk factors doesn’t mean that you will not get cancer. Talk with your child’s doctor if you think your child may be at risk.
Possible risk factors for ALL include the following:
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Family history.
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Being exposed to x-rays before birth.
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Being exposed to radiation.
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Past treatment with chemotherapy.
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Having certain changes in the chromosomes or genes.
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Having certain genetic conditions, such as:
Adapted from the National Cancer Institute’s Physician Data Query (PDQ(r)) Cancer Information Summaries (http://www.cancer.gov/
For more information:
Go to the Childhood Leukemia health topic.