Obesity is a risk factor in at least 13 cancers but there is a gap in understanding the underlying biology. This knowledge gap limits efforts to prevent these cancers or detect them early enough for effective treatment.
Using world-leading genomic and causal epidemiology expertise, OCEP will investigate: 1) why obesity causes cancer; 2) who would most benefit from risk-reducing measures; and 3) what the most effective measures are.
This new five-year programme is funded by Cancer Research UK and builds on the foundations of two previous cancer epidemiology programmes that CRUK also funded. Research within previous programmes has contributed to UK policy changes and identified new cancer screening approaches that are now being trialled by the NHS.
“Obesity is one of the biggest risk factors in cancer today but we can’t address this risk if we don’t understand the biological mechanisms involved. Through this new programme we aim to improve understanding of who is most at risk. This will lead to more targeted prevention and early-detection and ultimately save lives. Thank you to Cancer Research UK for their continued support for this important research,” said Richard Martin, one of the principal investigators on OCEP.
OCEP is led by University of Bristol with partners at International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in France, Imperial College London, University of Exeter, University of Lincoln, University of Manchester, University of Oxford, and University of Ioannina in Greece. Patient and public voices played an important role in developing this programme and the research will continue to be guided by our Patient and Public Advisory Group.
OCEP is part of the wider Integrative Cancer Epidemiology Partnership and affiliated with the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit.