What is the GO Study?

The GO (Genetics of Osteosarcoma) Study was designed to try to find causes of osteosarcoma in children. (For participant information, please click on "Information for GO Study Participants" links on the right side of this page.)

Why is this study being done?

This study is being done to learn more about osteosarcoma, and is being conducted by Dr. Logan G. Spector at the University of Minnesota. The participants include:

• Parents of young people who have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma
• Young people who have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma
• Brothers or sisters of young people who have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma (if one parent cannot participate)

Osteosarcoma is a cancer of the bone that usually affects the long bones of the arm or leg. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place. Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. Osteosarcoma is a growth of bone cells. It is the most common cancer of the bone in children under 20 years of age in the United States. For more information, please visit the National Cancer Institute's and the Children's Oncology Group's web pages on osteosarcoma.

This is an epidemiologic study, which means that the researchers are gathering information from a lot of families in order to find patterns between potential risk factors they have been exposed to and osteosarcoma. It is known that some environmental factors, such as toxic chemicals, can cause cancer. There are some genetic factors in people which can make it more likely for themselves or their children to develop cancer. Some cancers are caused by a combination of factors, including the environment and genetics.

In this study, both environmental and genetic risk factors are being looked at. Children diagnosed with osteosarcoma and their parents are asked to fill out a questionnaire and provide a sample of cheek cells. If one parent is not available to give a cheek cell sample, another son or daughter can instead.

The DNA from cheek cells may help us discover what genes might be involved in the development of osteosarcoma. Carefully determined questions will ask parents for information related to medical history, family health history, jobs, and their child's growth, development, and health. Children will be asked about diet, exercise habits, and sun exposure. It must be emphasized that the significance of many of the questions we will ask is entirely unknown. Only by asking questions such as these can we learn whether any of these factors are important in the development of osteosarcoma.

Sponsor

National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute

Researcher in charge of the study

Logan G. Spector, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota Division of Epidemiology/Clinical Research
Department of Pediatrics
420 Delaware St. SE MMC 715
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Questions?

Please read the following Information for GO Study Participants question-and-answer pages:

• For parents of children who have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma
• For children who have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma
• For siblings of children who have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma

Or call the study staff at the University of Minnesota at 612-624-3912.