Professor Patricia Buffler, University of California Berkeley

Professor Patricia Buffler and Dr Sandrine Dudoit, Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study, University of California Berkeley

Childhood leukaemia is a complex disease which has a variety of different forms.

It is known to have more than one cause and it appears to develop in a number of stages, with a genetic susceptibility present at birth in the majority of cases.

Many studies have looked for associations between childhood leukaemia and various environmental factors such as parental smoking, exposure to vehicle emissions and exposure to pesticides. The literature is generally supportive of a link.

The research team proposes that there are some children who, because of their genetic make-up, are more vulnerable to the effects of certain environmental carcinogens.

Few studies have so far taken this into account. Further, since childhood leukaemia is known to originate in the womb in the majority of cases, the team proposes that there may be maternal genetic effects on the developing foetus.

The team will use data from the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study, an ongoing, extensive epidemiological study which has already gathered a wide range of high quality data on a large number of leukaemia cases and matched controls in California.

Using new molecular genetic techniques and statistical analytic methods, team will analyse biological data from the cases and controls – including both sets of mothers – to see whether variation in the expression of genes involved in the metabolism of environmental carcinogens is associated with childhood leukaemia.

They will go on to examine whether variation in these genes affects the relationship between exposure to these environmental carcinogens and childhood leukaemia.

In addition to advancing our understanding of the causes of childhood leukaemia, this study will advance our knowledge of cancer-causing mechanisms and the influence of maternal and child genetic variations.

Photo: Lodish et al. Molecular Cell Biology, 5th Ed, WH Freeman

Return to Current Prevention Projects