This Core also studies risk factors for reproductive diseases and develops new epidemiologic methods for investigating these diseases.
Childhood cancer is thought to be due to inheriting one mutant gene from one of the parents.
Most mutations in the fertilized egg come from the sperm. Evidence from the Core suggests that the father's bad diet or smoking causes DNA damage to sperm and is likely to be a major source of childhood cancer. This incorporation of massive amounts of uracil due to vitamin deficiency results in chromosome breaks. Core members have now examined the effect of low folate on human sperm parameters in collaboration with the USDA Human Nutrition Research Laboratory. Folic acid deficiency in humans is correlated with decreases in sperm count and the quality of sperm.