Synopsis

The International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C) is an innovative alliance that possibly provides the greatest opportunity for finding a preventable cause of childhood cancer. I4C aims to examine associations between environmental exposures and the incidence of childhood cancers by pooling prospective population data from one million pregnant mothers and their babies. Around the world, several large infant/child prospective studies have been launched to examine environmental and biological determinants of common diseases. However, the rarity of virtually all forms of childhood cancer prevent even large cohort studies from examining the possible relationship of common exposures with common types of childhood cancer due to inadequate sample size.

The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute has had a major role in the study concept and planning for I4C, and is functioning as the I4C International Data Coordinating Centre. Data are being pooled and analysed to examine environmental and genetic factors that differ between those children who get cancer and those who don’t. I4C brings together international multidisciplinary teams to collaborate on this investigation and currently spans five continents with research teams from 15 countries.

As of June 2016, the I4C International Data Coordinating Centre houses data on:

  • 381,860 mothers and babies, including
  • 671 cases of childhood cancer (198 leukaemia), from
  • 6 cohorts contributing data to the pooled analysis
    • ALSPAC
    • CPP
    • DNBC (10% sample)
    • JPS
    • MoBa (10% sample)
    • TIHS

Summary

Study name International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium
Study abbreviation I4C
Current principal investigator/s
  • Terry Dwyer (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; The George Institute for Global Health, UK)
  • Jean Golding (Centre for Child and Adolescent Health School of Social and Community Medicine, Bristol, UK)
  • Martha Linet (National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD, USA)
  • Ora Paltiel (School of Public Health, Hadassah Medical Organization, Israel)
  • Gabriella Tikellis (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia)
  • Zdenco Herceg (International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France)
  • Jørn Olsen (Department of Epidemiology, University of California, USA; Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark)
  • Sjurdur Olsen (Statens Serum Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • Camilla Stoltenberg / Per Magnus (Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway)
  • Toshihiro Kawamoto / Shoji Nakayama (National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan)
  • Somdat Mahabir (Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, USA)
Current project manager Gabriella Tikellis
Cohort representative (study contact) Gabriella Tikellis
Postal address Gabriella Tikellis, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville VIC 3052, Australia
Email gabriella.tikellis@mcri.edu.au
Primary Institution The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI); The George Institute for Global Health
Collaborating Institution/s National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)), USA

Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, USA

Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark

Statens Serum Institut, Denmark

School of Public Health, Hadassah Medical Organization, Israel

Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

Centre for Child and Adolescent Health School of Social and Community Medicine, Bristol, UK

International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Spain

China CDC, China

National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan

Major funding sources

National Children’s Study

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD))

Children’s Cancer Foundation

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

Rotary Club of North Brighton

Tour de Cure

Philanthropic donations to Murdoch Childrens Research Institute

Study website https://www.mcri.edu.au/research/projects/international-childhood-cancer-cohort-consortium-i4c
Key reference Brown, R.C., Dwyer, T., Kasten, C., Krotoski, D., Li, Z., Linet, M.S., Olsen, J., Scheidt, P. and Winn, D.M.; International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C). (2007). Cohort profile: the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C). International Journal of Epidemiology 36(4): 724-30
Are data available outside study team? Yes, contact Gabriella Tikellis for enquiries
Study focus To examine associations between environmental exposures and the incidence of childhood cancers by pooling prospective population data from one million pregnant mothers and their babies
Sampling frame Large population-based longitudinal birth cohorts of greater than 2000 participants with environmental measures in domains of interest for childhood cancers and the possibility of following children for childhood cancer.
Year commenced September 2005 for I4C, with individual cohort recruitment dates
Commencement sample As of June 2016: 380,000 mother and child pairs
Intergenerational? NA
Imaging NA
Linkage DNBC, MoBA and ALSPAC cohorts have data linkage
Biosamples? Yes, available in some studies: cord blood, newborn screening (Guthrie) cards, saliva, venous blood 

Waves

Wave Year Age (mean, range) Eligible sample
1  Varied between individual studies