foodconsumer.org: Soft drinks linked to higher risk of pancreatic cancer - study

Soft drinks linked to higher risk of pancreatic cancer - study
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admin on 02/09/2010 12:50:00
 
A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota suggests that
drinking too many soft drinks may increase the risk of developing pancreatic
cancer.
The study finds those who consumed two or more soft drinks per week were twice
as likely to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer as those who did not drink the
beverage.
Dr. Mark Pereira and colleagues followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore
Chinese Health Study for 14 years and recorded 140 cases of pancreatic cancer.
They found those who consumed two or more soft drinks per week were at an 87
percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those who did not.
Pancreatic cancer is relatively rare, yet highly lethal.  Regardless of the type
of treatment, no more than 5% of pancreatic cancer patients survive beyond 5
years after diagnosis.
"The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin
in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth," said
Pereira.
In contrast, there was no association found between fruit juice consumption and
pancreatic cancer.
Susan Mayne, Ph.D., associate director of the Yale Cancer Center cautioned that
the study did not reveal a causal relationship, meaning that consuming soft
drinks may not definitely increase the risk.
She said some risk factors were not included in the analysis like smoking, red
meat consumption, which were associated with consumption of soft drink in
Singapore.
Pereira suggested that Singapore is a rich country with excellent health care
and consumers' behaviours are similar to those in other Western countries;
therefore, the results should apply to the United States as well.
This is not the first study linking consumption of added sugar in foods and
beverages to increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
Another study
One Swedish study in the November, 2006 issue of American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition suggests that eating lots of sugar or sugar-rich foods may increase
the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Susanna C. Larsson, a veteran researcher in epidemiology from the Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm and colleagues found those who added sugar to their food
and consumed lots of sugar were at a significantly higher risk of pancreatic
cancer compared to those who did not use sugar-added soft drinks.
For the study, the researchers followed 77,797 men and women aged 45 to 83 for
an average of about seven years. They found those who ate five or more servings
of added sugar dail, such as sugar-added tea and coffee, were 69 percent more
likely to acquire pancreatic cancer compared to those who never added sugar in
their foods and drinks.
Those who drank two or more servings of soft drinks per day had a 93 percent
higher risk of pancreatic cancer than those who did not use soft drinks. Eating
sweetened fruit soups or stewed fruit was also linked with a 51 percent higher
risk.
Dr. Larsson suspected that use of too much sugar could demand more insulin from
the pancreas, which in turn increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Why could sugar increase cancer risk?
It has long been known that people with diabetes or insulin resistance are at
higher risk for pancreatic cancer.
Those with diabetes were at a 200 percent increased risk for pancreatic cancer
compared to those who did not have the condition, according to researchers Lucio
GUllo and colleagues at the Istituto di Clinica Medica e Gastroenterologia in
Italy who reported their study on July 14, 1994 in the New England Journal of
Medicine.
It does not seem clear how high intake of sugar would boost the risk.
Some studies imply that sugar demands output of high levels of insulin, which by
itself stimulates cell proliferation and tumor growth and high levels of insulin
come with high levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which is known to
play a key role in promoting cancer cell growth.
Jimmy Downs and editing by Rachel Stockton