LEGACY blood
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Longitudinal Evaluation of the Growth and Acquisition of Clones over Years in the blood ('LEGACY blood')
IRAS ID
276923
Contact name
Jamie Blundell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
As we age, we acquire mutations in the cells responsible for blood production (haematopoietic stem cells), a phenomenon called ‘clonal haematopoiesis’. Recent studies have shown that as many as 95% of healthy individuals >60 years old has evidence of clonal haematopoiesis detectable in their blood. In some people, if these mutations grow to high enough levels, they can increase the risk of developing a blood cancer and/ or cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately we are currently unable to reliably predict which mutations are associated with the highest risk of these conditions, or what specific factors drive, or impede, the growth of mutations in the blood over time.
‘LEGACY blood’ is a prospective longitudinal cohort study, predominantly focused on the dynamics of acquired mutations in the blood over time. The study involves sampling, once every 6 weeks, of blood and saliva, as well as questionnaires focused on health and lifestyle. The study will also collect information on participant’s activity levels and general wellbeing (e.g. pulse and sleep amount/ quality) through the use of a wearable activity tracker (e.g. Fitbit).
Using the information collected from ‘LEGACY blood’ we hope to begin to answer the following questions:
- How do the dynamics of acquired mutations ('clonal dynamics') change over short timescales in the blood?
- What effect do health and lifestyle factors have on the growth and survival of clones?
- How do cell extrinsic factors and changes in the immune system (e.g. cytokines, T-cell receptor repertoire) correlate with changes in the growth and survival of clones and health and lifestyle changes?
- Are there particular changes, detectable in the blood, that are predictive of future illness?
- Can saliva and fingerprick blood samples, self-collected and then sent via the post, provide results comparable to traditionally collected venepuncture samples?REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/YH/0222
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion