A study led by Dr Marcus Cooke at the University of Leicester and funded by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) UK is looking at whether consuming caffeine during pregnancy might affect the unborn baby’s risk of developing leukaemia in childhood.
While childhood leukaemia could be initiated by DNA alterations in the unborn child, it is thought that leukaemia would only develop if there was another secondary trigger. There is currently no single proven cause of childhood leukaemia, though exposure to radiation and/or a rare response to a common infection are thought likely to play a part.
Although there are currently no convincing links between caffeine and cancer risks, previous studies have found a link between alterations to DNA, which are sometimes found in newborn babies, to an increased risk of leukaemia. Caffeine has been shown to cause these kinds of changes to DNA.
Scientists know caffeine can pass back and forth across the placenta, meaning the unborn baby will come in contact with caffeine consumed by the mother. Dr Cooke and his team want to find out what impact this can have on the unborn baby.
Their research will involve working with a group of 1,340 pregnant women. After birth, a blood sample is routinely taken from each newborn baby’s heel. It is these samples that will then be tested for DNA changes. By comparing any DNA changes to the levels of caffeine the mother consumed, the team will try to find out if the two are linked.
If a link is discovered, further research would be needed to see whether this meant babies with these DNA changes would be more likely to develop leukaemia, and to examine evidence of exposure to other DNA damaging agents.
