International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C)
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 Children’s 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.
| Study Summary | |
|---|---|
| Study name | International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium |
| Study abbreviation | I4C |
| Current principal investigator/s |
Terry Dwyer |
| Current project manager |
Gabriella Tikellis |
| Primary Institution/s |
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI
The George Institute for Global Health |
| Collaborating Institution/s |
For a comprehensive list of collaborating institutions, view the Cohort Profile
|
| Major funding source/s |
National Children's Study National Institutes of Health - NIH Children's Cancer Foundation International Agency for Research on Cancer - IARC Rotary Club of North Brighton Tour de Cure |
| Study website | https://www.mcri.edu.au/research/projects/international-childhood-cancer-cohort-consortium-i4c |
| Key reference for study | 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 |
| Study focus |
To identify causal risk factors and mechanisms involved in the development of childhood cancers by examining associations between environmental exposures and the incidence of childhood cancers. Pooled prospective population data from over one million mothers and their babies make up this consortium, providing an extaordinary opportunity for exploring the preventable causes of childhood cancer. |
| 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. |
| Primary study type | Consortium / Collaboration |
| Primary participant (at recruitment) | Index child |
| Year commenced |
2005 |
| Is this study ongoing? | Yes - the study is ongoing |
| Ongoing recruitment? | Yes |
| Sample size (N) |
381,860 mother and child pairs as of June 2016, including 671 cases of childhood cancer (198 leukaemia) |
| Survey data available? | Yes |
| Imaging data available? | No |
| Linkage to administrative dataset/s? | Yes, linkage to (at least one) administrative dataset completed |
| Biosamples available? | Yes |
| Are data available to others outside study team, with appropriate safeguards and structures in line with the cohort’s ethics and governance processes? | Yes |
| Are there any costs associated with data/sample access for approved requests? | There are usually no costs associated with access |
| Broadest type of participant consent available |
Unspecified consent (can be used for any future ethically approved research) |
2023
He J-R, Yu Y, Fang F, Gissler M, Magnus P, László KD, Ward MH, Paltiel O, Tikellis G, Maule MM, Qiu X, Du J, Valdimarsdóttir UA, Rahimi K, Wiemels JL, Linet MS, Hirst JE, Li J, Dwyer T. (2023). Evaluation of Maternal Infection During Pregnancy and Childhood Leukemia Among Offspring in Denmark. JAMA Netw Open, 6(2), e230133. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0133
2022
He J-R, Hirst JE, Tikellis G, Phillips GS, Ramakrishnan R, Paltiel O, Ponsonby A-L, Klebanoff M, Olsen J, Murphy MFG, Håberg SE, Lemeshow S, F Olsen S, Qiu X, Magnus P, Golding J, Ward MH, Wiemels JL, Rahimi K, Linet MS, Dwyer T, International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium . (2022). Common maternal infections during pregnancy and childhood leukaemia in the offspring: findings from six international birth cohorts. Int J Epidemiol, 51(3), 769 - 777. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab199
He J-R, Hirst JE, Tikellis G, Phillips GS, Ramakrishnan R, Paltiel O, Ponsonby A-L, Klebanoff M, Olsen J, Murphy MFG, Håberg SE, Lemeshow S, F Olsen S, Qiu X, Magnus P, Golding J, Ward MH, Wiemels JL, Rahimi K, Linet MS, Dwyer T, International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium . (2022). Correction to: Common maternal infections during pregnancy and childhood leukaemia in the offspring: findings from six international birth cohorts. Int J Epidemiol, 51(3), 1037. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab228
2020
He J-R, Ramakrishnan R, Hirst JE, Bonaventure A, Francis SS, Paltiel O, Håberg SE, Lemeshow S, Olsen S, Tikellis G, Magnus P, Murphy MFG, Wiemels JL, Linet MS, Dwyer T. (2020). Maternal Infection in Pregnancy and Childhood Leukemia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Pediatr, 217, 98 - 109.e8. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.10.046
Lewis P, Hellmich M, Fritschi L, Tikellis G, Morfeld P, Groß JV, Foster RG, Paltiel O, Klebanoff MA, Golding J, Olsen S, Magnus P, Ponsonby A-L, Linet MS, Ward MH, Caporaso N, Dwyer T, Erren TC. (2020). Perinatal photoperiod and childhood cancer: pooled results from 182,856 individuals in the international childhood cancer cohort consortium (I4C). Chronobiol Int, 37(7), 1034 - 1047. DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2020.1740724
Merid SK, Novoloaca A, Sharp GC, Küpers LK, Kho AT, Roy R, Gao L, Annesi-Maesano I, Jain P, Plusquin M, Kogevinas M, Allard C, Vehmeijer FO, Kazmi N, Salas LA, Rezwan FI, Zhang H, Sebert S, Czamara D, Rifas-Shiman SL, Melton PE, Lawlor DA, Pershagen G, Breton CV, Huen K, Baiz N, Gagliardi L, Nawrot TS, Corpeleijn E, Perron P, Duijts L, Nohr EA, Bustamante M, Ewart SL, Karmaus W, Zhao S, Page CM, Herceg Z, Jarvelin M-R, Lahti J, Baccarelli AA, Anderson D, Kachroo P, Relton CL, Bergström A, Eskenazi B, Soomro MH, Vineis P, Snieder H, Bouchard L, Jaddoe VW, Sørensen TIA, Vrijheid M, Arshad SH, Holloway JW, Håberg SE, Magnus P, Dwyer T, Binder EB, DeMeo DL, Vonk JM, Newnham J, Tantisira KG, Kull I, Wiemels JL, Heude B, Sunyer J, Nystad W, Munthe-Kaas MC, Räikkönen K, Oken E, Huang R-C, Weiss ST, Antó JM, Bousquet J, Kumar A, Söderhäll C, Almqvist C, Cardenas A, Gruzieva O, Xu C-J, Reese SE, Kere J, Brodin P, Solomon O, Wielscher M, Holland N, Ghantous A, Hivert M-F, Felix JF, Koppelman GH, London SJ, Melén E. (2020). Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of blood DNA methylation in newborns and children identifies numerous loci related to gestational age. Genome Med, 12(1), 25. DOI: 10.1186/s13073-020-0716-9
Patel DM, Gyldenkærne S, Jones RR, Olsen SF, Tikellis G, Granström C, Dwyer T, Stayner LT, Ward MH. (2020). Residential proximity to agriculture and risk of childhood leukemia and central nervous system tumors in the Danish national birth cohort. Environ Int, 143, 105955. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105955
Patel DM, Jones RR, Booth BJ, Olsson AC, Kromhout H, Straif K, Vermeulen R, Tikellis G, Paltiel O, Golding J, Northstone K, Stoltenberg C, Håberg SE, Schüz J, Friesen MC, Ponsonby A-L, Lemeshow S, Linet MS, Magnus P, Olsen J, Olsen SF, Dwyer T, Stayner LT, Ward MH, International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium . (2020). Parental occupational exposure to pesticides, animals and organic dust and risk of childhood leukemia and central nervous system tumors: Findings from the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C). Int J Cancer, 146(4), 943 - 952. DOI: 10.1002/ijc.32388
2019
Küpers LK, Monnereau C, Sharp GC, Yousefi P, Salas LA, Ghantous A, Page CM, Reese SE, Wilcox AJ, Czamara D, Starling AP, Novoloaca A, Lent S, Roy R, Hoyo C, Breton CV, Allard C, Just AC, Bakulski KM, Holloway JW, Everson TM, Xu C-J, Huang R-C, van der Plaat DA, Wielscher M, Merid SK, Ullemar V, Rezwan FI, Lahti J, van Dongen J, Langie SAS, Richardson TG, Magnus MC, Nohr EA, Xu Z, Duijts L, Zhao S, Zhang W, Plusquin M, DeMeo DL, Solomon O, Heimovaara JH, Jima DD, Gao L, Bustamante M, Perron P, Wright RO, Hertz-Picciotto I, Zhang H, Karagas MR, Gehring U, Marsit CJ, Beilin LJ, Vonk JM, Jarvelin M-R, Bergström A, Örtqvist AK, Ewart S, Villa PM, Moore SE, Willemsen G, Standaert ARL, Håberg SE, Sørensen TIA, Taylor JA, Räikkönen K, Yang IV, Kechris K, Nawrot TS, Silver MJ, Gong YY, Richiardi L, Kogevinas M, Litonjua AA, Eskenazi B, Huen K, Mbarek H, Maguire RL, Dwyer T, Vrijheid M, Bouchard L, Baccarelli AA, Croen LA, Karmaus W, Anderson D, de Vries M, Sebert S, Kere J, Karlsson R, Arshad SH, Hämäläinen E, Routledge MN, Boomsma DI, Feinberg AP, Newschaffer CJ, Govarts E, Moisse M, Fallin MD, Melén E, Prentice AM, Kajantie E, Almqvist C, Oken E, Dabelea D, Boezen HM, Melton PE, Wright RJ, Koppelman GH, Trevisi L, Hivert M-F, Sunyer J, Munthe-Kaas MC, Murphy SK, Corpeleijn E, Wiemels J, Holland N, Herceg Z, Binder EB, Davey Smith G, Jaddoe VWV, Lie RT, Nystad W, London SJ, Lawlor DA, Relton CL, Snieder H, Felix JF. (2019). Meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies in neonates reveals widespread differential DNA methylation associated with birthweight. Nat Commun, 10(1), 1893. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09671-3
Paltiel O, Lemeshow S, Phillips GS, Tikellis G, Linet MS, Ponsonby A-L, Magnus P, Håberg SE, Olsen SF, Granström C, Klebanoff M, Golding J, Herceg Z, Ghantous A, Hirst JE, Borkhardt A, Ward MH, Holst Søegaard S, Dwyer T. (2019). The association between birth order and childhood leukemia may be modified by paternal age and birth weight. Pooled results from the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C). Int J Cancer, 144(1), 26 - 33. DOI: 10.1002/ijc.31635
2018
Tikellis G, Dwyer T, Paltiel O, Phillips GS, Lemeshow S, Golding J, Northstone K, Boyd A, Olsen S, Ghantous A, Herceg Z, Ward MH, Håberg SE, Magnus P, Olsen J, Ström M, Mahabir S, Jones RR, Ponsonby A-L, Clavel J, Charles MA, Trevathan E, Qian ZM, Maule MM, Qiu X, Hong Y-C, Brandalise S, Roman E, Wake M, He J-R, Linet MS, International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium . (2018). The International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C): A research platform of prospective cohorts for studying the aetiology of childhood cancers. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol, 32(6), 568 - 583. DOI: 10.1111/ppe.12519
2015
Paltiel O, Tikellis G, Linet M, Golding J, Lemeshow S, Phillips G, Lamb K, Stoltenberg C, Håberg SE, Strøm M, Granstrøm C, Northstone K, Klebanoff M, Ponsonby A-L, Milne E, Pedersen M, Kogevinas M, Ha E, Dwyer T, International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium . (2015). Birthweight and Childhood Cancer: Preliminary Findings from the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C). Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol, 29(4), 335 - 345. DOI: 10.1111/ppe.12193
2007
Brown RC, Dwyer T, Kasten C, Krotoski D, Li Z, Linet MS, Olsen J, Scheidt P, Winn DM, International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C) . (2007). Cohort profile: the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C). Int J Epidemiol, 36(4), 724 - 730. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyl299
0
Dwyer T, Tikellis G, Ghantous A, Lemeshow S, Håberg SE, Olsen J, Paltiel O, Golding J, Linet MS, Herceg Z, Munthe-Kaas MC, Stoltenberg C. (). MoBa and the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C) Norsk Epidemiologi, 24(1-2). DOI: 10.5324/nje.v24i1-2.1813
| Study Contacts | |
|---|---|
| Principal investigator/s |
Terry Dwyer |
| Project manager |
Gabriella Tikellis |
| Study Contact |
Terry Dwyer |