California Teachers Study (CTS)

Lab Collaboration

Analysis of flame retardants and other persistent chemicals in blood samples for a study of women with and without breast cancer

CTS Logo

The California Teachers Study (CTS) is a large, multi-institutional, statewide cohort study conducted by the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, the City of Hope, the University of Southern California, and the University of California Irvine to study factors influencing women’s health among active and retired female school teachers and administrators in California. 

In a sub-study focusing on links between chemical exposures and breast cancer, Biomonitoring California laboratories are analyzing perfluorochemicals (PFCs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and other persistent organic pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] and organochlorine pesticides) in serum samples from more than 2,500 women, half of whom have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Project Publications

Hurley et al. (2016)

Hurley S, Houtz E, Goldberg D, Wang M, Park J-S, Nelson DO, Reynolds P, Bernstein L, Anton-Culver H, Horn-Ross P, Petreas M (2016). Preliminary associations between the detection of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in drinking water and serum concentrations in a sample of California women. Environ Sci Technol Lett 3(7):264–269. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00154. epub: June 6. Link to abstract (link is external)(link is external)

Project Type:

Laboratory collaboration

Project Status:

Ongoing

Participants:

2,869 female professional school employees

Sample Collection Date:

- ongoing

Sample Collection Area:

California

Project Map:

Map of California showing major cities, with areas of sample collection in green highlight