Professor of Cancer Biomarkers and
Cancer Biomarkers and Prevention Section Head

Contact Details

• Tel: 0116 223 1823
• Email: pbf1@le.ac.uk  
• Office: Room 021, Biocentre, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH

Education

• B.A. (Hons), (Chemistry), Oxford.
• D.Phil., (Chemistry), Oxford.
• M.A., Oxford. 
   

Research Interests

Environmental and life-style factors (including diet) are known to play a major role in the causation of cancer and other chronic diseases. Although tobacco smoking is responsible for about 30% of lethal cancers, it has been estimated that 30-50% of cancer deaths in non-smokers might be avoided by changes in life-style. The carcinogens to which we are exposed are normally in the form of complex mixtures (e.g. pollution or dietary sources), and much effort has gone into determining the nature of the most significant carcinogenic components in these mixtures and their mechanisms of action. Such knowledge would enable the development of preventive measures, leading to a reduction in cancer risks for humans. Essential to achieving this aim is the use of biomarkers in the exposed human population. These can be used not only to characterise the chemical nature of the carcinogens involved, but also to identify key biological effects that result from the exposure, and the effectiveness of preventive measures such as chemoprevention. Our objective is to develop biomarkers of exposure, effect and susceptibility to carcinogens, and to apply them to studies in humans, with the overall objective of reducing human exposure to carcinogens, and consequent risk. A complementary approach to cancer prevention in normal populations is through intervention with chemopreventive agents, which delay or prevent cancer progression, and a secondary objective of ours is to use our biomarkers to assess the efficacy of such procedures and guide future clinical trials.
 

For more information on Professor Farmer's research and publications, please use the following link: Cancer Theme - Peter Farmer.