What is the HOPE Study?

The HOPE (Hepatoblastoma Origins & Pediatric Epidemiology) Study was designed to try to find causes of hepatoblastoma in infants and children. (For participant information, please click on "Information for HOPE 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 hepatoblastoma, and is being conducted by Dr. Logan G. Spector at the University of Minnesota. The participants include:

• Mothers of children who have been diagnosed with hepatoblastoma
• Mothers of children who have not been diagnosed with hepatoblastoma

The information from the two groups will be compared to see what, if anything, is different about those who have been diagnosed with hepatoblastoma.

Hepatoblastoma originates in the liver, one of the largest organs in the body. The liver's main function is to filter and store blood. 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. Hepatoblastoma is a growth of immature liver cells. For more information, please visit the National Cancer Institute's web page on childhood liver cancer.

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 hepatoblastoma. 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. Mothers are asked to participate in a telephone interview and provide a sample of cheek cells from themselves and their infants. The interview will take about 45-60 minutes. Carefully determined interview questions will ask for information related to medical history, family health history, personal habits such as smoking, reproductive history, jobs, and events surrounding the child's birth. 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 hepatoblastoma.

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 HOPE Study Participants question-and-answer pages:

• For mothers whose children have been diagnosed with hepatoblastoma
• For mothers whose children do not have hepatoblastoma

Or call the study staff at the University of Minnesota toll-free at 1-800-756-1991.