Pancreatic cancer risk factors


 * Associate Editor-In-Chief:

Overview
Pancreatic cancer is associated to a number of predisposing risk factors such as age, gender, specific ethnicities, and environmental exposures.

Risk Factors
Risk factors for pancreatic cancer include:
 * Age
 * Male gender
 * African ethnicity
 * Smoking
 * Diets high in meat
 * Obesity
 * Diabetes
 * Chronic pancreatitis has been linked, but is not known to be causal.
 * Occupational exposure to certain pesticides, dyes, and chemicals related to gasoline
 * Family history, including autosomal recessive ataxia-telangiectasia and autosomal dominantly inherited mutations in the BRCA2 gene, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome due to mutations in the STK11 tumor suppressor gene, hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (Lynch syndrome), familial adenomatous polyposis, and the familial atypical multiple mole melanoma-pancreatic cancer syndrome (FAMMM-PC) due to mutations in the CDKN2A tumor suppressor gene.
 * Helicobacter pylori infection
 * Gingivitis or periodontal disease.

Alcohol
It is controversial whether alcohol consumption is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Drinking alcohol excessively is a major cause of chronic pancreatitis, which in turn predisposes to pancreatic cancer, but "chronic pancreatitis that is due to alcohol doesn't increase risk as much as other types of chronic pancreatitis. Overall, the association is consistently weak and the majority of studies have found no association.

Some studies suggest a relationship, with risk increasing with increasing amount of alcohol intake. Risk is greatest in heavy drinkers mostly on the order of four or more drinks per day. But there appears to be no increased risk for people consuming up to 30g of alcohol a day, so most of the U.S. consumes alcohol at a level that "is probably not a risk factor for pancreatic cancer."

Several studies caution that their findings could be due to confounding factors. Even if a link exists, it "could be due to the contents of some alcoholic beverages" other than the alcohol itself. One Dutch study even found that drinkers of white wine had lower risk.