Wake Forest University Health Sciences
The purpose of the study is to evaluate if firefighter exposure to hazardous compounds will increase the incidence of premalignant hematological states which subsequently increases the risk of the development of hematologic malignancies, and potentially other pathophysiological consequences.
Firefighters from the Charlotte Fire Department, ages 40-49 and with at least 5 years on the job experience will be offered consent for this study. Consented and eligible participants will have labs collected at the Baseline visit to evaluate for CHIP and monoclonal gammopathy. Buccal swabs (also collected at Baseline) and any remaining blood from the Baseline labs will be collected from participants who consent to collection and banking of their samples for future research. Participants will also complete the Firefighter History Assessment at Baseline. If clonal hematopoiesis (CHIP) results…
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Written informed consent and HIPAA authorization for release of personal health information. 2. Age ≥ 40-49 years at the time of consent (self-reported) 3. Ability of the participant to understand and comply with study procedures for the entire length of the study 4. Currently employed by Charlotte Fire Department (CFD) with at least 5 years on-the -job experience (self-reported) Exclusion Criteria: Anyone with a current diagnosis of a hematologic malignancy will be excluded.
Whole blood will be collected at the Baseline visit to evaluate for monoclonal gammopathy through SPEP, immunofixation, and free light chains.
Whole blood will be collected at the Baseline visit for CBC with differential which may inform a diagnosis of a plasma cell disorder or other hematological disorder.
Whole blood will be collected at the Baseline visit to be evaluated using next generation sequencing (NGS) detection of CHIP. Deep NGS to identify mutations associated with myeloid neoplasms and CHIP will be performed using an error-correcting next generation sequencing multi-gene panel targeting genes most frequently mutated in CHIP.
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