International Involvement 

International Interest Group
International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium

International Interest Group

To encourage a wider exchange of information on Study design and research results, an International Interest Group of the Study Assembly has been established. It has attracted investigators worldwide who are currently working on or are interested in establishing longitudinal cohort studies on children’s environmental health with the goal of facilitating communication and sharing of ideas.

• Fourth Informal Consultation on Long-Term Studies on Environmental Threats to the Health of Children in Developing and Industrialized Countries
  August 18–20, 2005
  Bangkok, Thailand
  Meeting Report (PDF 879 kb)

• Third Informal Consultation on Long Term Cohort Studies on the Impact of the Environment on Children’s Health
  November 20–24, 2004
  Cuernavaca, Mexico
  Meeting Report (PDF 51 kb)

• Second Informal Consultation on Long Term Studies (LTS) on Environmental Threats to the Health of Children in Developing Countries
  August 23–25, 2004
  Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Washington DC
  Meeting Report (PDF 91 kb)

• Consultation on the Feasibility of Long Term Studies on the Environmental Threats to the Health of Children in Developing Countries
  October 13–15, 2003
  Glion sur Montreux, Switzerland
  Meeting Report (PDF 57 kb)

• International Consultation on Longitudinal Cohort Studies
  December 16, 2002
  Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, Baltimore, MD
  Meeting Report

International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium

Around the world, several large infant/child prospective studies have been launched to examine environmental and biological determinants of common diseases. A workshop was held on September 28–29, 2005 in Rockville, MD, USA, to discuss the development of an international alliance of longitudinal studies of children to enable investigations of the role of various environmental exposures in the etiology of childhood cancer. This meeting was a result of deliberations at a prior workshop on May 20, 2004 to examine what, if any, role the National Children’s Study might have in studying childhood cancer. The 2004 workshop concluded that the rarity of virtually all forms of childhood cancer prevent even individual large cohort studies from examining the possible relationship of common exposures with common types of childhood cancer due to inadequate sample size. The 2005 workshop was organized to discuss whether a consortium of multiple large children’s cohorts could join together to examine possible associations between exposures and childhood cancer. Representatives of 11 infant/child cohorts from four continents, representing approximately 700,000 children, agreed to establish an International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C) to evaluate the potential of these cohorts for this type of research. Several hypotheses in relation to childhood leukemia are proposed to test the feasibility and utility of the I4C. They include birth weight and associated determinants such as insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2; maternal folate intake from diet, folic acid supplementation, and polymorphisms in genes controlling the enzyme methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase; maternal prenatal and/or paternal preconception cigarette smoking, and specific genetic polymorphisms within CYP1A1, GSTM1, or RAS; and exposure of the mother to specific pesticides during pregnancy (with validation of questionnaire responses of the mother by measurement of the specific pesticides or metabolites in serum from biological specimens obtained from the mother during pregnancy). This cohort consortium may provide valuable insights on the causes of childhood leukemia, and may be helpful for studying other rare childhood diseases. The Second International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium Workshop was held on August 29–30, 2007 at the World Health Organization in Copenhagen, Denmark. Thirty-five participants representing 10 countries discussed the progress of the I4C.

• Second International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium Workshop
  August 29–30, 2007
  World Health Organization, Copenhagen, Denmark
  Meeting Report (PDF 401 kb)

• International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium Workshop
  September 28–29, 2005
  Doubletree Rockville, Rockville, MD
  Meeting Report (PDF 2.45 mb)

• Cancer and the National Children’s Study: Opportunities and Challenges Workshop
  May 20, 2004
  Holiday Inn Select, Bethesda, MD
  Meeting Report

• Cohort Profile: The International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C)
  Article from the International Journal of Epidemiology (January 2007) (PDF 191 kb)
  Brown RC, Dwyer T, Kasten C, Krotoski D, Li Z, Linet MS, Olsen J, Scheidt P, Winn DM, for the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C). Online advance access January 25, 2007

• The National Children’s Study Participates in Largest Proposed Study of Childhood Cancer
  Report

To learn more about international research opportunities between the National Children’s Study and other longitudinal cohort studies, see the brochure The National Children’s Study: An International Perspective (PDF 1.39 mb).