A Prospective Study Of The Influence Of Health-related Lifestyle Factors On DNA Methylation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$640,074.00
Summary
It is known that DNA methylation can lead to disease. We aim to discover what causes DNA methylation to change. This could open the way for new methods of prevention and treatment of many diseases. We will study 1200 people to assess how the methylation of their DNA is influenced by changes in their smoking habits, alcohol consumption, vitamin intake, body size, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. We want to know whether these changes lead to undesirable (or desirable) changes in DNA methylation
We will investigate whether there are particular patterns of DNA methylation in people who develop gastric cancer. This could provide a means of identifying people at high risk of developing the disease, which may assist with early detection. This would be expected to markedly improve survival. If we can identify lifestyle factors associated with gastric cancer methylation there may be opportunities for prevention of the disease.