This project aims to investigate how diverse exposures jointly influence breast cancer risk and progression by identifying clusters of co-occurring risk factors.
Research questions:
1.What distinct multi-dimensional exposure patterns exist among women (including genetic, clinical, lifestyle, environmental, sleep, and dietary factors)?
2.How are these exposure clusters associated with breast cancer incidence?
3.Do these clusters predict breast cancer progression outcomes such as metastasis or complications?
Objectives:
1.Identify clusters of women sharing similar profiles across genetic risk, clinical characteristics, environmental exposures (e.g., air pollution), lifestyle behaviours (smoking, alcohol use, physical activity), sleep traits, and dietary intake.
2.Examine associations between these exposure clusters and breast cancer incidence.
3.Assess whether these clusters are linked to breast cancer progression outcomes (e.g., metastasis, complications) using cancer registry and hospital episode data.
Scientific rationale:
Breast cancer risk is shaped by multiple interacting factors that rarely occur in isolation. While individual risk factors have been well described, less is known about how they cluster in real-world populations and jointly influence disease development and progression. Moreover, integrated analyses combining genetic susceptibility (e.g., polygenic risk scores), clinical risk factors, sleep, diet, and environmental exposures are rare.
Using UK Biobank’s large, deeply phenotyped cohort with genetic data, lifestyle assessments, environmental measures, and cancer registry linkage will enable robust identification of meaningful exposure patterns. Understanding these clusters can support risk stratification, inform targeted prevention strategies, and improve insights into breast cancer etiology and prognosis.
