Family-Based Intervention Study of the Effects of Environmental Exposures on Breast Tissue Composition

September 17, 2025 updated by: Mary B. Terry, Columbia University
This research study is being conducted to find out whether changes in household and personal behavior aimed at reducing exposure to environmental chemicals in dust (increased house dust removal efforts/cleaning and hand washing) and consumer products (increased us of personal care and beauty products that are free of chemicals including phthalates, parabens, and phenols) results in lower exposure to environmental chemicals including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals including phthalates, parabens and phenols. These chemicals may have harmful health effects, as they can interfere with normal functions of the body. This study will also assess changes in breast tissue composition to understand the role of environmental exposures in breast cancer risk.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
32

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10032
        • Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

10 years to 65 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participant of Columbia's Breast Cancer Research and the Environment (BCERP) Study that recruited from the Columbia Children's Center for Environmental Health (CCCEH) Mothers and Newborns cohort.
  • Mother did not smoke or use illicit drugs prior to or during pregnancy (referring to pregnancy for participating daughter).
  • Mother was 18-35 years at time of daughter's delivery.
  • Mother registered in the prenatal clinics by the 20th week of pregnancy.
  • Mother free of diabetes, hypertension and reported HIV infection.
  • Mother resided in northern Manhattan or the South Bronx neighborhoods of New York City for at least one year prior to pregnancy.
  • Mother self-identified as African-American or Dominican.
  • Only participants in the CCCEH birth cohort who answered in the affirmative to the question "I would like to be contacted about future studies" on the consent form of the Mothers and Newborns Study will be contacted to participate in this intervention.

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intervention Arm
Mother-daughter pairs will partake in an educational session at the baseline visit, which will cover topics on reading product labels, cleaning habit, and cooking methods for reducing environmental exposures. Educational materials will be adapted from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other accredited sources. Participants will also be introduced to free resources for consumer product safety information, such as the Detox Me phone application. Participants in the intervention arm will receive a 6-month supply of soap, lotion, deodorant, lip balm, a mop, cleaning cloths, and an air filter to take home with them. Mother-daughter pairs in both study arms will return for a second clinic visit 6 months after the pre-intervention visit for blood and urine sample collection, Optical Spectroscopy (OS) measurement, and questionnaire completion.
Behavioral: Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Household Intervention
This study will focus the intervention on ways at the individual level to reduce sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (through cooking methods, exposure to cigarette smoking, indoor air filters) and also individual ways to reduce sources of other Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. Mother-daughter pairs will partake in an educational session at the baseline visit, covering topics on reading labels, cleaning habits, and cooking methods for reducing exposures. Participants will also be introduced to free resources for consumer product safety information. The intervention arm will receive a 6-month supply of soap, lotion, deodorant, lip balm, a mop, cleaning cloths, and an air filter to take home with them. Pairs in both study arms will return for a second clinic visit 6 months after the pre-intervention visit for blood and urine sample collection, Optical Spectroscopy measurement, and questionnaire completion. The control arm will be offered the intervention products at this time.
No Intervention: Control Arm
Mother-daughter pairs will partake in an educational session at the baseline visit, which will cover topics on reading product labels, cleaning habit, and cooking methods for reducing environmental exposures. Educational materials will be adapted from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other accredited sources. Participants will also be introduced to free resources for consumer product safety information, such as the Detox Me phone application. Mother-daughter pairs in both study arms will return for a second clinic visit 6 months after the pre-intervention visit for blood and urine sample collection, Optical Spectroscopy (OS) measurement, and questionnaire completion. Control arm participants will be offered the chemical-free products, cleaning supplies, and air filter at this time.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of measuring pre/post-intervention change in participants' breast tissue concentration of lipid (mg/cm^3) measured using an Optical Spectroscopy machine.
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months
Breast tissue composition will be assessed at each clinic visit using an Optical Breast Spectroscopy machine, a minimally invasive procedure that is investigational and not currently FDA-approved. This machine places a light source on 4 different locations of the breast (at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock) and reads the reflected light through the breast tissue. The OS exam will be completed twice on each side of the chest so that 8 measures are taken from the left breast and 8 measures will be taken from the right breast (with each measurement taking no more than a minute). A Monte-Carlo light propagation simulation technique (FullMonte) will be used to extract breast tissue concentration of lipid (mg/cm^3).
Baseline, 6 months
Feasibility of measuring pre/post-intervention change in participants' breast tissue concentration of water (mg/cm^3) measured using an Optical Spectroscopy machine.
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months
Breast tissue composition will be assessed at each clinic visit using an Optical Breast Spectroscopy machine, a minimally invasive procedure that is investigational and not currently FDA-approved. This machine places a light source on 4 different locations of the breast (at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock) and reads the reflected light through the breast tissue. The OS exam will be completed twice on each side of the chest so that 8 measures are taken from the left breast and 8 measures will be taken from the right breast (with each measurement taking no more than a minute). A Monte-Carlo light propagation simulation technique (FullMonte) will be used to extract breast tissue concentration of water (mg/cm^3).
Baseline, 6 months
Feasibility of measuring pre/post-intervention change in participants' breast tissue concentration of collagen (mg/cm^3) measured using an Optical Spectroscopy machine.
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months
Breast tissue composition will be assessed at each clinic visit using an Optical Breast Spectroscopy machine, a minimally invasive procedure that is investigational and not currently FDA-approved. This machine places a light source on 4 different locations of the breast (at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock) and reads the reflected light through the breast tissue. The OS exam will be completed twice on each side of the chest so that 8 measures are taken from the left breast and 8 measures will be taken from the right breast (with each measurement taking no more than a minute). A Monte-Carlo light propagation simulation technique (FullMonte) will be used to extract breast tissue concentration of collagen (mg/cm^3).
Baseline, 6 months
Feasibility of measuring pre/post-intervention change in participants' breast tissue concentration of total hemoglobin (μM) measured using an Optical Spectroscopy machine.
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months
Breast tissue composition will be assessed at each clinic visit using an Optical Breast Spectroscopy machine, a minimally invasive procedure that is investigational and not currently FDA-approved. This machine places a light source on 4 different locations of the breast (at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock) and reads the reflected light through the breast tissue. The OS exam will be completed twice on each side of the chest so that 8 measures are taken from the left breast and 8 measures will be taken from the right breast (with each measurement taking no more than a minute). A Monte-Carlo light propagation simulation technique (FullMonte) will be used to extract breast tissue concentration of total hemoglobin (μM).
Baseline, 6 months
Feasibility of measuring pre/post-intervention change in participants' breast tissue concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (%) measured using an Optical Spectroscopy machine.
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months
Breast tissue composition will be assessed at each clinic visit using an Optical Breast Spectroscopy machine, a minimally invasive procedure that is investigational and not currently FDA-approved. This machine places a light source on 4 different locations of the breast (at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock) and reads the reflected light through the breast tissue. The OS exam will be completed twice on each side of the chest so that 8 measures are taken from the left breast and 8 measures will be taken from the right breast (with each measurement taking no more than a minute). A Monte-Carlo light propagation simulation technique (FullMonte) will be used to extract breast tissue concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (%).
Baseline, 6 months
Feasibility of measuring pre/post-intervention change in urinary metabolites of endocrine disrupting chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), phthalates, and parabens (all measured in μg/L units) .
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months
Spot urines will be collected from mothers and daughters in each study arm at the pre-intervention and post-intervention clinic visits. Samples will be processed, aliquoted, and stored at -80°C within two hours of collection. Urinary concentrations of metabolites (μg/L) of PAH, phthalates and parabens will be measured in urine samples using commercially available ELISA kits. Blood samples will also be collected at pre- and post-intervention clinic visits using standard protocol, with the buffy coat of white blood cells, packed red blood cells, and plasma separated and stored in multiple aliquots at -80°C for future analyses. Each urine and blood sample will receive a unique barcode, blinding the lab technician to the study arms.
Baseline, 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Columbia University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
University of Wisconsin, Madison
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Mary Beth Terry, PhD, Columbia University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 25, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 21, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 21, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 6, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 10, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 11, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 23, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 17, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • AAAS2359
  • 5U01ES026127-04 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings