The Adolescent and Childhood Cancer Epidemiology and Susceptibility Service (ACCESS) for Texas

The purpose of this core facility is to collect biological samples from children with cancer and collect DNA from the parents of children with cancer, children without cancer, or parents of children without cancer to gain a better understanding of how childhood cancers develop. The parents of children with cancer will also complete a risk factor questionnaire about exposures that the child or parents may have had in the past.

There are no restrictions on the types of cancers to be enrolled; however, the numbers of each cancer in ACCESS will reflect the incidence in Texas. In addition to blood or saliva samples collected for DNA analyses, plasma samples at several time points during therapy are also being collected. Associated epidemiological and clinical data can be linked to the samples to provide a rich resource for studying the risk factors for childhood cancers.

This research is being done across multiple sites in Texas:

• Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX
• Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
• University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
• Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children’s Cancer and Hematology Clinic, McAllen, TX
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, El Paso, TX
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX
• Cook Children’s Medical Center, Fort Worth, TX

Scientists who are interested in utilizing the data and/or specimens being collected through ACCESS are encouraged to contact the study team at epicenter@bcm.edu with a brief description of the proposed project. The project will be reviewed for feasibility and scientific merit by the Steering Committee (composed of the ACCESS Investigators listed below).

Investigators

The following Investigators are involved in ACCESS-Texas:

Michael Scheurer, PhD, MPH
Baylor College of Medicine
Texas Children’s Hospital

Vivienne Marshall, PhD
Children’s Hospital of San Antonio

Tim Griffin, MD
Children’s Hospital of San Antonio

Juan Carlos Bernini, MD
Vannie E. Cook, Jr. Children’s Cancer Clinic

Rodrigo Erana, MD, MPH
Vannie E. Cook, Jr. Children’s Cancer Clinic

Laura Klesse, MD, PhD
UT Southwestern
Children’s Medical Center Dallas

Jeff Murray, MD
Cook Children’s Medical Center

Lisa Hartman, MD
TTUHSC-El Paso
El Paso Children’s Hospital

Mohamad Al-Rahawan, MD
TTUHSC
Covenant Hospital Lubbock

Related websites

• The EpiCenter at Texas Children’s
• Pediatric Cancer Program
• ACCESS-Texas Study Description