Epigenetic and Metabolomic Changes in Childhood Cancer Survivors

Wake Forest University Health Sciences7 enrolled

Overview

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.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

Conditions

Childhood Cancer

Interventions

One-time blood drawOTHER

Subjects will have a one-time blood draw of 5-10mL. Quantity of blood drawn for study and routine care will not exceed the maximum safe blood volume for subject size. Evaluation of CpG methylation sites will be completed using the MethylationEPIC BeadChip (Infinium) microarray. This covers over 850,000 CpG methylation sites and is available in the investigator's Genomics Core Facility. Dr. Langefeld has analyzed numerous methylation studies, both array-based and next generation sequencing. Metabolomic analysis will be performed by mass spectrometry when funds are available.

Evaluation of CpG methylationOTHER

Evaluation of CpG methylation sites will be completed using the MethylationEPIC BeadChip (Infinium) microarray.

Metabolomic analysisOTHER

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 1 YearMax age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

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.

Locations (1)

Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Epigenetic Testing

Baseline and follow-up differences (predictor) in CpG methylation at sites on the EPIC array will be compared between subjects and controls (outcomes). Samples will be evaluated using the Infinium Methylation EPIC BeadChip microarray. This evaluates over 850,000 CpG methylation sites. The proportion of methylation for each site is based on the ratio of the fluorescence intensity of the methylated versus the combined methylated and unmethylated probes (referred to as the β value), and will be determined with GenomeStudio (Illumina, Inc.). For analysis, all β values will be converted to M values, where M is the log2 ratio of the methylated probe intensity to the unmethylated probe intensity.

Time frame: Over 9 months

Metabolomic testing

Metabolic profiling will be done on serum using ultrahigh-performance liquid-phase chromatography and gas-chromatography separation, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/MS/MS2 and GC/MS, respectively) at Metabolon, Inc. (Durham, NC, USA) using established procedures and technology. (10) samples will be collected at three time points based on disease type and will be flash frozen in liquid nitrogen after collection and stored at -80°C to ensure sample stability.

Time frame: Over 9 months

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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