Pancreatic Cancer Risk Factors

A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. TheAmericanCancerSocietyishereto supportUkrainianpatients withcancer,caregivers,andclinicians. CloseCriticalAlertBanner Search prod Verenespañol | Downloadthistopic[PDF] Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention PancreaticCancerRiskFactors WhatCausesPancreaticCancer? CanPancreaticCancerBePrevented? CancerA-Z PancreaticCancer Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention PancreaticCancerRiskFactors Ariskfactorisanythingthatincreasesyourchanceofgettingadiseasesuchascancer.Differentcancershavedifferentriskfactors.Someriskfactors,likesmoking,canbechanged.Others,likeaperson’sageorfamilyhistory,can’tbechanged. Insomecases,theremightbeafactorthatmaydecreaseyourriskofdevelopingcancerorhasanuncleareffect.Thatisnotconsideredariskfactor,butyoumayseethemnotedclearlyonthispageaswell.  Havingariskfactor,orevenmany,doesnotmeanthatyouwillgetcancer.Andsomepeoplewhogetcancermayhavefewornoknownriskfactors. Herearesomeoftheriskfactorsknowntoincreaseyourriskforpancreaticcancer. Riskfactorsthatcanbechanged Tobaccouse Smokingisoneofthemostimportantriskfactorsforpancreaticcancer.Theriskofgettingpancreaticcancerisabouttwiceashighamongpeoplewhosmokecomparedtothosewhohaveneversmoked. About25%ofpancreaticcancersarethoughttobecausedbycigarettesmoking.Cigarsmoking andtheuseofsmokelesstobacco productsalsoincreasetherisk.However,theriskofpancreaticcancerstartstodroponceapersonstopssmoking .SeeCanPancreaticCancerBePrevented? Beingoverweight Beingveryoverweight(obese)isariskfactorforpancreaticcancer.Obesepeople(bodymassindex[BMI]of30ormore)areabout20%morelikelytodeveloppancreaticcancer. Gainingweightasanadultcanalsoincreaserisk. Carryingextraweightaroundthewaistlinemaybeariskfactoreveninpeoplewhoarenotveryoverweight. Diabetes Pancreaticcancerismorecommoninpeoplewithdiabetes.Thereasonforthisisnotknown.Mostoftheriskisfoundinpeoplewithtype2diabetes.Thistypeofdiabetesisincreasinginchildrenandadolescentsasobesityintheseagegroupsalsorises. Type2diabetesinadultsisalsooftenrelatedtobeingoverweightorobese.It’snotclearifpeoplewithtype1(juvenile)diabeteshaveahigherrisk. Chronicpancreatitis Chronicpancreatitis,along-terminflammationofthepancreas,islinkedwithanincreasedriskofpancreaticcancer. Chronicpancreatitisisoftenseenwithheavyalcoholuseandsmoking.  Workplaceexposuretocertainchemicals Heavyexposureatworktocertainchemicalsusedinthedrycleaningandmetalworkingindustriesmayraiseaperson’sriskofpancreaticcancer. Riskfactorsthatcan’tbechanged Age Theriskofdevelopingpancreaticcancergoesupaspeopleage.Almostallpatientsareolderthan45.Abouttwo-thirdsareatleast65yearsold.Theaverageageatthetimeofdiagnosisis70. Gender Menareslightlymorelikelytodeveloppancreaticcancerthanwomen.Thismaybedue,atleastinpart,tohighertobaccouseinmen,whichraisespancreaticcancerrisk(seeabove). Race AfricanAmericansareslightlymorelikelytodeveloppancreaticcancerthanwhites.Thereasonsforthisaren’tclear,butitmaybedueinparttohavinghigherratesofsomeotherriskfactorsforpancreaticcancer,suchasdiabetes,smoking,andbeingoverweight. Familyhistory Pancreaticcancerseemstoruninsomefamilies.Insomeofthesefamilies,thehighriskisduetoaninheritedsyndrome(explainedbelow).Inotherfamilies,thegenecausingtheincreasedriskisnotknown.Althoughfamilyhistoryisariskfactor,mostpeoplewhogetpancreaticcancerdonothaveafamilyhistoryofit. Inheritedgeneticsyndromes Inheritedgenechanges(mutations)canbepassedfromparenttochild.Thesegenechangesmaycauseasmanyas10%ofpancreaticcancers.Sometimesthesechangesresultinsyndromesthatincludeincreasedrisksofothercancers(orotherhealthproblems).Examplesofgeneticsyndromesthatcancausepancreaticcancerinclude: Hereditarybreastandovariancancersyndrome,causedbymutationsintheBRCA1orBRCA2genes Hereditarybreastcancer,causedbymutationsinthePALB2gene Familialatypicalmultiplemolemelanoma(FAMMM)syndrome,causedbymutationsinthep16/CDKN2Ageneandassociatedwithskinandeyemelanomas Familialpancreatitis,usuallycausedbymutationsinthePRSS1gene Lynchsyndrome,alsoknownashereditarynon-polyposiscolorectalcancer(HNPCC),mostoftencausedbyadefectintheMLH1orMSH2genes Peutz-Jegherssyndrome,causedbydefectsintheSTK11gene.Thissyndromeisalsolinkedwithpolypsinthedigestivetractandseveralothercancers.   Changesinthegenesthatcausesomeofthesesyndromescanbefoundbygenetictesting.Formoreinformationongenetictesting,seeCanPancreaticCancerBeFoundEarly? Chronicpancreatitis(duetoagenechange) Chronicpancreatitisissometimesduetoaninheritedgenemutation.Peoplewiththisinherited(familial)formofpancreatitishaveahighlifetimeriskofpancreaticcancer. Factorswithanuncleareffectonrisk Diet Dietswithredandprocessedmeats(suchassausageandbacon)andsaturatedfatsmayincreasetheriskofpancreaticcancer.Sugarydrinksmayalsoincreasethisrisk.Moreresearchisneededinthisarea. Physicalinactivity Someresearchhassuggestedthatlackofphysicalactivitymightincreasepancreaticcancerrisk.Butnotallstudieshavefoundthis .Regularphysicalactivitymayhelpreducetheriskofpancreaticcancer. Coffee Someolderstudieshavesuggestedthatdrinkingcoffeemightincreasetheriskofpancreaticcancer,butmorerecentstudieshavenotconfirmedthis. Alcohol Somestudieshaveshownalinkbetweenheavyalcoholuseandpancreaticcancer.Heavyalcoholusecanalsoleadtoconditionssuchaschronicpancreatitis,whichisknowntoincreasepancreaticcancerrisk. Infections Someresearchsuggeststhatinfectionofthestomachwiththeulcer-causingbacteriaHelicobacterpylori(H.pylori)orinfectionwithHepatitisBmayincreasetheriskofgettingpancreaticcancer. Morestudiesareneeded. Writtenby References TheAmericanCancerSocietymedicalandeditorialcontentteam Ourteamismadeupofdoctorsand oncologycertifiednurseswithdeepknowledgeofcancercareaswellasjournalists,editors,andtranslatorswithextensiveexperienceinmedicalwriting. AmericanCancerSociety.CancerFacts&Figures2013.Atlanta,Ga:AmericanCancerSociety;2013. AmericanCancerSociety.CancerFacts&Figures2018.Atlanta,Ga:AmericanCancerSociety;2018. BeaversTB,BrownPH,MaressoKC,HawkET.Chapter23:CancerPrevention,Screening,andEarlyDetection.In:NiederhuberJE,ArmitageJO,DorshowJH,KastanMB,TepperJE,eds. Abeloff’sClinicalOncology.5thed.Philadelphia,Pa.Elsevier:2014. CantoMI. Familialriskfactorsforpancreaticcancerandscreeningofhigh-riskpatients.UpToDatewebsite.https://www.uptodate.com/contents/familial-risk-factors-for-pancreatic-cancer-and-screening-of-high-risk-patients.UpdatedNov2,2018.AccessedJanuary2,2019. Fernandez-delCastilloCandJimenezRE. Epidemiologyandnonfamilialriskfactorsforexocrinepancreaticcancer.UpToDatewebsite.https://www.uptodate.com/contents/epidemiology-and-nonfamilial-risk-factors-for-exocrine-pancreatic-cancer.UpdatedMay14,2018.AccessedDecember19,2018. LucenteforteE,LaVecchiaC,SilvermanD,etal.Alcoholconsumptionandpancreaticcancer:ApooledanalysisintheInternationalPancreaticCancerCase-ControlConsortium(PanC4).AnnOncol.2012;23:374−382. Jesus-AcostaAD,NarangA,MauroL,HermanJ,JaffeeEM,LaheruDA.Chapter78:Carcinomaofthepancreas.In:NiederhuberJE,ArmitageJO,DorshowJH,KastanMB,TepperJE,eds.Abeloff’sClinicalOncology.6thed.Philadelphia,Pa.Elsevier:2020. NooneAM,HowladerN,KrapchoM,MillerD,BrestA,YuM,RuhlJ,TatalovichZ,MariottoA,LewisDR,ChenHS,FeuerEJ,CroninKA(eds).SEERCancerStatisticsReview,1975-2015,NationalCancerInstitute.Bethesda,MD,https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2015/,basedonNovember2017SEERdatasubmission,postedtotheSEERwebsite,April2018. RockCL,ThomsonC,GanslerT,etal.AmericanCancerSocietyguidelinefordietandphysicalactivityforcancerprevention. CA:ACancerJournalforClinicians.2020;70(4).doi:10.3322/caac.21591.Accessedathttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21591onJune9,2020. WinterJM,BrodyJR,AbramsRA,PoseyJA,YeoCJ.Chapter55:CancerofthePancreas.In:DeVitaVT,LawrenceTS,RosenbergSA,eds.DeVita,Hellman,andRosenberg’sCancer:PrinciplesandPracticeofOncology.11thed.Philadelphia,Pa:LippincottWilliams&Wilkins;2019. References AmericanCancerSociety.CancerFacts&Figures2013.Atlanta,Ga:AmericanCancerSociety;2013. AmericanCancerSociety.CancerFacts&Figures2018.Atlanta,Ga:AmericanCancerSociety;2018. BeaversTB,BrownPH,MaressoKC,HawkET.Chapter23:CancerPrevention,Screening,andEarlyDetection.In:NiederhuberJE,ArmitageJO,DorshowJH,KastanMB,TepperJE,eds. Abeloff’sClinicalOncology.5thed.Philadelphia,Pa.Elsevier:2014. CantoMI. Familialriskfactorsforpancreaticcancerandscreeningofhigh-riskpatients.UpToDatewebsite.https://www.uptodate.com/contents/familial-risk-factors-for-pancreatic-cancer-and-screening-of-high-risk-patients.UpdatedNov2,2018.AccessedJanuary2,2019. Fernandez-delCastilloCandJimenezRE. Epidemiologyandnonfamilialriskfactorsforexocrinepancreaticcancer.UpToDatewebsite.https://www.uptodate.com/contents/epidemiology-and-nonfamilial-risk-factors-for-exocrine-pancreatic-cancer.UpdatedMay14,2018.AccessedDecember19,2018. LucenteforteE,LaVecchiaC,SilvermanD,etal.Alcoholconsumptionandpancreaticcancer:ApooledanalysisintheInternationalPancreaticCancerCase-ControlConsortium(PanC4).AnnOncol.2012;23:374−382. Jesus-AcostaAD,NarangA,MauroL,HermanJ,JaffeeEM,LaheruDA.Chapter78:Carcinomaofthepancreas.In:NiederhuberJE,ArmitageJO,DorshowJH,KastanMB,TepperJE,eds.Abeloff’sClinicalOncology.6thed.Philadelphia,Pa.Elsevier:2020. NooneAM,HowladerN,KrapchoM,MillerD,BrestA,YuM,RuhlJ,TatalovichZ,MariottoA,LewisDR,ChenHS,FeuerEJ,CroninKA(eds).SEERCancerStatisticsReview,1975-2015,NationalCancerInstitute.Bethesda,MD,https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2015/,basedonNovember2017SEERdatasubmission,postedtotheSEERwebsite,April2018. RockCL,ThomsonC,GanslerT,etal.AmericanCancerSocietyguidelinefordietandphysicalactivityforcancerprevention. CA:ACancerJournalforClinicians.2020;70(4).doi:10.3322/caac.21591.Accessedathttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21591onJune9,2020. WinterJM,BrodyJR,AbramsRA,PoseyJA,YeoCJ.Chapter55:CancerofthePancreas.In:DeVitaVT,LawrenceTS,RosenbergSA,eds.DeVita,Hellman,andRosenberg’sCancer:PrinciplesandPracticeofOncology.11thed.Philadelphia,Pa:LippincottWilliams&Wilkins;2019. 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