Discovering Cancer Risks From Environmental Contaminants and Maternal/Child Health

DREAM: Discovering Cancer Risks From Environmental Contaminants And Maternal/Child Health

The DREAM Cohort is a longitudinal observational study developed to enhance our understanding of how multiple exposures to environmental chemicals and pollutants across a diverse population of pregnant women and their offspring are linked to cancer risks. Because pregnancy induces multiple maternal hormonal and physiological changes that can increase cancer susceptibility to environmental chemical exposures, this study will focus on pregnancy as a period of particular vulnerability to toxic agents.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Health Questionnaires; Other: Specimen sample collection

Detailed Description

The environmental exposures will focus on two major components: Consumer product related chemicals (including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phthalates and plasticizers, phenolic compounds, pesticides, and aromatic amines) measured via biomonitoring and prioritized based on widespread public exposure; and environmental pollutants in air and water, evaluated via geographic information system analyses of participants' residential histories.

The study team will collect questionnaire data and biospecimen samples starting at the second trimester of pregnancy up until the child reaches four years of age. A Cohort Ambassador Program will also be established to invite participants across our three sites to provide continuous feedback which will be integrated into the research priorities.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 1576

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Berkeley, California, United States, 94720
      • University of California, Berkeley
    • Fresno, California, United States, 93721
      • Fresno Community Regional Medical Center
    • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
      • University of California, San Francisco

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Pregnant women and their children

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant women, over the age of 18 years.
• English or Spanish-speaking.
• Children born of participants enrolled during pregnancy will be enrolled in the DREAM cohort.
• Inclusion criterion for the DREAM Cohort Ambassador Program is limited to research participants in the DREAM Cohort.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women under the age of 18.
• Women expecting the birth of multiples (twins, triplets, etc.).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

Pregnant women and their children; The DREAM cohort will recruit from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Mission Bay, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and Fresno Community Medical Center locations to enroll an economically, geographically, ethnically and racially diverse cohort of pregnant women and their children for long term follow-up.

Other: Health Questionnaires; A questionnaire with content developed and tested in the investigator's previous reproductive and cancer epidemiology studies as part of the NIH Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium will be used to collect information on primary established and hypothesized risk factors for cancer and additional covariates.; Other: Specimen sample collection; Collection of blood, urine, nails, hair, and saliva samples will be obtained during the participant encounters.; Other Names: Specimen collection; Biospecimen sample collection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Assessment of levels of consumer product-related chemicals	Consumer product related chemicals measured via biomonitoring of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phthalates and other plasticizers, phenolic compounds, pesticides, and aromatic amines will be assessed.	Up to 4 years
Evaluation of endocrine system disruptions	Exposures to environmental chemicals that disrupt endocrine and related biological systems during pregnancy which may predispose women and children to cancer will be evaluated.	Up to 4 years
Assessment of Inflammation/Immune modulation	Measures of peripheral whole blood using a standard laboratory procedure for Complete Blood Count (CBC) panel will be calculated to assess shifts in immune cell profiles indicative of inflammation and immune modulation.	Up to 4 years
Impact of geographical environmental pollutants	The environmental pollutants found in air and water, as well as pesticide use, will be evaluated via geographic information system analyses of participants' residential history.	Up to 4 years
Frequency of oxidative stress biomarkers	Oxidative Stress/DNA damage will be measured by seven oxidative stress biomarkers which reflect oxidative damage to DNA will be measured to determine overall assessment of oxidative damage to DNA: proteins and lipids (OSBs): (o,o -dityrosine (diY), 8-hydroxy-2 -deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), and four F2-isoprostane isomers (i.e., 8-isoprostaglandinF2α [8-PGF2α], 11β-prostaglandinF2α [11-PGF2α], 15(R)-prostaglandinF2α [15-PGF2α], and 8-iso,15(R)-prostaglandinF2α [8,15-PGF2α]) in maternal urine.	Up to 4 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI); California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Peggy Reynolds, PhD, University of California, San Francisco

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 21, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): July 21, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 17, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 17, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): February 27, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 30, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 26, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Cancer Risk; Environmental Cancer Risk; Maternal-Child Cancer Risk; Environmental Contaminants
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Investigative Techniques; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Specimen Handling
• Other Study ID Numbers: 21621; NCI-2022-10633 (Registry Identifier: NCI Clinical Trials Reporting Program (CTRP)); UG3CA265845 (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