Pancreatic cancer: What you need to know

Dr. Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon Computer Science professor, died of pancreatic cancer July 25. He was 47.

SUNDAY July 27, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Dr. Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon Computer Science professor, died of pancreatic cancer on July 25. He was 47.

Dr. Pausch was known to internet surfers by his last lecture last September delivered at Carnegie Mellon to a crowd of about 400 faculty and students. He started his lecture with the news that he had terminal cancer and then went on to talk about his childhood dreams, and how to help his children and others achieve their goals in life.  

Dr. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September, 2006. He is survived by his wife Jai and children Dylan, Logan, and Chloe.

Pancreatic cancer is highly lethal. Pancreatic cancer is expected to be diagnosed in 37,680 Americans and it will kill 34,290 in 2008, according to cancer.gov.

The causes of the disease are essentially unknown, and its prevention from developing is not easy. Cigarette smoking is believed to be the most significant and avoidable risk factor, wikipedia says. 

Other adjustable risk factors for pancreatic cancer include a diet high in red meat, obesity, diabetes mellitus, chronic pancreatitis, helicobacter pylori infection, occupational exposure to certain pesticides, dyes, and some other chemicals.

Cited below are some studies reported at foodconsumer.org to give readers some ideas about the possible association between pancreatic cancer risk and diet.

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One study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet showed that high consumption of sweetened food and drink increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Three items linked to increased risk of the cancer are fizzy drinks, creamed fruit, and sugar in coffee.

The study of almost 80,000 healthy women and men showed that those who drank fizzy or syrup-based drinks twice a day were at a 90 percent higher risk than those who never drank. Adding sugar to food or drinks such as coffee five times per day was linked to a 70 percent greater risk than those who did not. Those who ate creamed fruit at least once a day also had a 50% higher risk than those who did not.

Another study by researchers at the University of Hawaii suggests that high intake of sucrose and fructose may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.

The study published in the Nov, 2007, issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that those who consumed the highest amounts of total sugars, fructose, and sucrose were more likely to have pancreatic cancer.

Previous studies linked high blood glucose levels with greater risk of pancreatic cancer. Researchers speculated that a high dietary glycemic load may be a risk factor for this disease.

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Another study suggests that a diet high in red meat may raise the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, particularly in women. The study was published in the June, 2006, issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

For the study, Dr, Susanna C. Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and colleagues followed up with more than 61,000 women for their dietary habits, mainly their consumption of meat, fish, poultry, and eggs, and the risk of pancreatic cancer. During the 17-year follow-up, 172 women were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Researchers found that long term consumption of red meat was associated with an elevated risk of pancreatic cancer, while consumption of poultry was correlated with a reduced risk. But there is no association between consumption of processed meat, fish, or eggs and the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Eating a lot of processed meats such as hot dogs, sausages, and luncheon meats may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to another study presented on April 19 at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

In the study, researchers investigated the dietary information and pancreatic cancer death rate among 190,545 men and women of African-American, Japanese-American, Caucasian, Latino, and Native Hawaiian origin. The data originated from the Multiethnic Cohort Study in Hawaii and Los Angeles, which involved those 190,545 subjects. During a 7-year follow-up, 482 cases of pancreatic cancer were recorded.

It was found that those who consumed the highest amounts of processed meats, including all types, are 67 percent more likely to acquire pancreatic cancer compared with those who used the lowest amounts. Those who consumed the highest amounts of pork and red meat increased the risk by 50 percent.

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Flavonoid consumption may help reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer among male smokers, according to Finnish researchers.

The researchers published a study in the March, 2008, edition of Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers showing that high intake of flavonoids, particularly flavonol kaempferol and flavan-3-ol catechin, was linked to a 64 percent reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in male smokers.

One study conducted by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and published in the September, 2006, issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention showed that consuming the recommended daily amount of vitamin D could reduce risk of deadly pancreatic cancer by 50 percent. 

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Eating fewer calories than needed may protect against pancreatic cancer, according to an animal study presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 12-16.

Laura M. Lashinger, Ph.D, at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues found calorie restriction by as much as 30 percent dramatically reduced risk of pancreatic lesions.

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A recent study published in the September, 2005, issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention reported that five or more servings of vegetables a day could cut the risk of pancreatic cancer by 50 percent.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California in San Francisco, involved 532 pancreatic cancer patients and more than 1,700 randomly selected people in the San Francisco area.


By Ben Wasserman, and edited by Heather Kelley.
Jul 27, 2008 - 9:09:19 AM