IARC 60th Anniversary - 19-21 May 2026
Session : 19/05/26 - Posters
Targeted and non-targeted analyses of PFAS in newborn dried blood spots and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
VIEIRA V. 1, LIU S. 2, MORIMOTO L. 3, BINCZEWSKI N. 1, WIEMELS J. 4, MA X. 2, GODRI POLLITT K. 2, METAYER C. 3
1 University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States; 2 Yale University, New Haven, United States; 3 University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States; 4 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) measured in newborn dried blood spots (DBS) may be associated with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) risk.
Objective: We examined associations between childhood ALL in Los Angeles County, California, and targeted and non-targeted PFAS measured in DBS accounting for maternal and patient characteristics.
Methods: ALL cases (n=125) diagnosed before age 18 years between 2000-2015 and controls (n=219) were selected from a registry-based study using a stratified sampling based on birth year and birth address within a public water district with PFAS contamination according to the US Environmental Protection Agency Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. We calculated design-based odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the effect of PFAS exposures, independently and mutually adjusted for other PFAS. We also conducted non-linear and stratified analyses.
Results: PFOS and PFOA had the highest mean concentrations in DBS, with 10307 and 4690 pg/g dried blood among cases compared to 8142 and 4245 pg/g dried blood among controls, respectively. Twenty-six PFAS were identified in the non-targeted analysis. For PFOS and PFOA, the highest risk was observed for the 4th quartile compared with the 1st quartile (OR=1.56, 95% CI: 0.42, 5.75; OR=1.64, 95% CI: 0.43, 6.17, respectively). In joint analyses of non-linear PFOS and PFOA exposures, we observed the highest risk of ALL associated with the highest levels of log2-PFOS and log2-PFOA in analyses adjusted for other PFAS detection. For non-targeted PFAS, increased risk of childhood ALL was observed per doubling of C4HF7O3 (OR=5.31, 95% CI: 1.13, 24.96) and for the highest quartile of C10HF19O5 (OR=5.20, 95% CI: 1.15, 23.56). Associations were generally stronger among non-Hispanic participants compared to Hispanic participants.
Significance: There was some suggestion that PFOS and PFOA measured at birth, as well as some non-targeted PFAS, were associated with higher childhood ALL risk. Further research is needed, especially of non-targeted PFAS, to better understand associations with childhood cancers.