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By David Liu, PHD

Monday Nov 12, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study released in American Journal of Gastroenterology suggests that drinking alcohol and tobacco use both can drastically increase risk of early-onset pancreatic cancer.M.A. Anderson from University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan and colleagues conducted the study and found heavy drinkers were 61 percent  more likely to develop pancreatic cancer compared to those who did not drink alcohol.  And  tobacco smokers were 169 percent more likely to develop the disease regardless of the dosage.The researchers analysed data from  the Pancreatic Cancer Collaborative Registry and examined the effects of a range of potential confounders including gender, race, country of birth, education, family history of pancreatic cancer, diabetes status, tobacco smoking, and alcohol drinking on the risk of pancreatic cancer.It was found that the median age for pancreatic cancer to be diagnosed was 66.3 years.  Being a man, heavy alcohol drinkers and beer drinkers were more likely to be diagnosed with the disease.In addition to age, what significantly influenced the risk of pancreatic cancer included gender, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking (amount, status and type), family history of pancreatic cancer, and body mass index. The researchers concluded "Alcohol and tobacco use are associated with a dose-related increased risk for earlier age of onset of PancCa (pancreatic cancer). Although beer drinkers develop pancreatic cancer at an earlier age than nondrinkers, alcohol type did not have a significant effect after controlling for alcohol dose."Pancreatic cancer is highly lethal and treatment provides no cure for the disease.  Only a few percentage of patients would be able to survive for five or more years of diagnosis.