Epigenetic and Metabolomic Changes in Childhood Cancer Survivors

Epigenetic and Metabolomic Changes in Childhood Cancer Survivors as a Late Effect of Treatment - a Pilot Study

The purpose of this research study is to try and identify markers in childhood cancer survivors to help predict if they will develop late effects from their cancer treatment.

This is a pilot study to obtain preliminary data that will be used to apply for a larger grant to fund the full study with an adequate sample size for analysis.

Specific Aim 1. What are the epigenetic differences between children treated for childhood cancers and healthy controls matched for age, sex, ethnicity, geographic region, and tanner stage.

Specific Aim 2. Compare the metabolomic differences between children treated for childhood cancers and healthy controls matched for age, sex, ethnicity, geographic region, and tanner stage.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Childhood cancer survivors age 1-18 years old who received intensive treatment which included anthracycline and/or alkylating agent chemotherapy.
• Diseases which will be eligible include, high risk or very high risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, sarcomas.

Healthy controls:

• Healthy controls are defined as children ages 1-18 years old who are free from diseases or medical conditions that might be affected by or have an impact on this research study. Healthy controls will be matched with patients for age, sex, ethnicity, geographic region, and tanner stage, since it is known that these factors can affect the epigenetic signature of an individual. Controls will already be having blood drawn as part of their routine care.

Exclusion Criteria:

Cancer survivors:

• Patients who have received a bone marrow transplant will not be eligible.

Healthy controls:

• Age, sex, ethnicity, geographic region, and tanner stage matched controls with any acute or chronic disease will be excluded.