Investigating lifestyle factors on cancer outcomes

Incidence of cancer is continuing to increase in the UK, with the current estimate of 598 cancer diagnosis per 100,000 people per year. Additionally, over a quarter of deaths in the UK are due to cancer, and 11 of the top 25 causes of years of life lost in England result from a cancer diagnosis, as reported in the Global Burden of Disease study 2013. Smoking, obesity and other lifestyle factors (e.g. diet and physical activity) have been associated with various cancer diagnoses. However, there is limited large-scale data to investigate how these factors vary by population and sub-type of cancer. By utilising the size and breadth of the information collected by the UK Biobank, we can provide further evidence to support previously identified risk factors for cancer, and investigate if and how these risk factors vary by cancer type and population. Additionally, by comparing these results with those from similar studies in other populations, we can investigate if the potential causes of cancer types vary depending on the population. This project will run for 5 years.