A spatial analysis of childhood cancer and industrial air pollution in a metropolitan area of Colombia

Background Air pollutants are considered carcinogenic to humans. In some European countries, an association between industrial air pollution and childhood cancer has been established. This relationship has not been addressed in Latin America, despite the spatial variability of air pollutants that may limit the extrapolation of the results to other geographical areas. Objective To conduct a spatial analysis of the relationship between childhood cancer and proximity to industrial sources of air pollution in a metropolitan area of Colombia. Methods Incident cases of childhood cancers were obtained from the Population‐based Cancer Registry of the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga during 2000‐2015. Local and focused cluster tests were used for the detection of spatial clusters, and the Poisson multivariable model was used to evaluate the combined effects of spatial variables. Results The Kulldorff's focused test found a significant spatial cluster (P