Study of Hodgkin Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Our lab's Mayo Clinic Case Control Study of Hodgkin Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia tests hypotheses about the causes of these types of cancer.

Led by Dr. Cerhan, this study analyzes study participant data for:

  • Medical history.
  • Pesticide exposures.
  • Farming exposures.
  • Diet.
  • Early-life factors.
  • Genetic susceptibility.
  • Gene-by-environment interactions.

Study protocol

Participants enrolled in the study were people newly diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia. They were from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin and were seen at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, from September 2002 through August 2014. Control participants were people from the same region without a history of lymphoma or leukemia who had a prescheduled general medical examination at Mayo Clinic and were frequency matched on age, sex and residence of the case group.

Each participant donated a blood sample, and the lab banked serum, plasma and DNA. Participants also completed the Main Questionnaire, Farming and Pesticide Exposure Survey, Female History (for women), and the Food Frequency Questionnaire.

Study outcomes

Although the case-control study is no longer recruiting participants, data analysis is ongoing.

The study also has been a major contributor to the International Lymphoma Epidemiology (InterLymph) Consortium, an open scientific forum for epidemiologic research in non-Hodgkin lymphoma formed by the National Cancer Institute in 2001.

Related study files

Researchers can learn more about the study by reviewing these PDF files on the study design and the questionnaires used in the study: