Parent Title:
Toxic Substances in the Environment
Grant Number:
Principal Investigator:
Martyn Smith (PI of Parent Grant); Buffler, Patricia (Leader of Project 1)
Institution:
University of California, Berkeley
Most Recent Award Year:
2007
Lifestage of Participants:
Exposure:
Infant (0-1 year); Youth (1-14 years); Adulthood (mother)
Assessment:
Infant (0-1 year); Youth (1-14 years)
Exposures:
Air Pollutants:
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Chlorinated Compounds:
Trichloroethylene (TCE)
Other:
Benzene
Health Outcomes:
Cancer Outcomes:
Childhood leukemia
Biological Sample:
Blood
Environmental Sample:
Indoor air; Drinking water
Abstract:
This project builds upon the existing Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study (NCCLS), a large case-control study with over 1,000 cases. Its overall goal is to determine the role exposure to environmental chemicals plays in the etiology of childhood leukemia. We aim to examine the potential role benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and other selected Superfund chemicals, such as trichloroethylene (TCE), play in the etiology of childhood leukemia in California. We will use state-of-the-art exposure assessment techniques to accomplish this goal. We further propose to use gene expression profiling and proteomics to develop new biomarkers that aid in the classification of etiologic subtypes of this disease and help find its cause(s). Our hypothesis is that certain subtypes of leukemia will have specific environmental causes. Specifically, we plan to: 1) Extend case ascertainment through 2009, such that biological samples will be available from over 1000 cases; 2) characterize the childhood leukemia cases by proteomics and gene expression profiling; 3) collaborate with the CDC to measure more than 30 volatile hydrocarbons in the blood of mothers of children with leukemia and control mothers (we will compare these measures with results from concomitant home air and water sampling and with surrogate markers of past exposures to VOCs using self-reported exposure to tobacco smoke and estimated traffic density); 4) measure protein adducts of benzene and naphthalene (a representative PAH) in serum from mothers of cases and controls in collaboration with Dr. Rappaport of the North Carolina SBRP; and, 5) measure protein adducts of benzene and naphthalene in the plasma of children with different forms of leukemia and correlate these measurements with the chemical exposure analysis conducted with household samples. The strengths of the study are: a) Large sample size; b) extensive residential exposure assessment; c) measures of current and cumulative exposure to Superfund chemicals in both case and control mothers and children; d) ability to compare exposures to national NHANES data; e) availability of carefully processed biological samples; and, f) application of sophisticated -omic technologies to case characterization. These studies should provide new insights into the role of chemical exposure in the etiology of childhood leukemia and produce new biomarkers of exposure and disease status that can be used in future studies.
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Related NIEHS-Funded Study Populations
California Childhood Leukemia Study (CCLS)
Principal Investigator:
Metayer, Catherine (Buffler, Patricia)
| Study Population Page Study Population c79
Institution:
University of California, Berkeley
Location:
California
Number of Participants::
3,523 (2,213 cases and 1,310 controls)
Brief Description::
This is a population-based case-control study to examine the relationship between environmental exposures, genetic factors, and childhood leukemia. The study has undergone multiple phases of enrollment since 1995 and and now includes over 2,000 leukemia cases.