Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death among women and men in the U.S.1 Here are some surprising facts:
- The five-year survival rate is less than 5 percent (and this figure has barely improved since 1975, when it was 3 percent)
- There is no reliable screening test for early detection of pancreatic cancer2
- Less than 2 percent of the National Cancer Institute’s federal research funding is currently allocated to pancreatic cancer3
- Pancreatic cancer has claimed the lives of several public figures including: actor Patrick Swayze, opera tenor Lucianno Pavarotti, and professor and bestselling author Dr. Randy Pausch (“The Last Lecture”)4
Every year, approximately 40,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S.
5 It is known as a “silent killer” because its symptoms (pain, jaundice, and weight loss) can easily be mistaken for other diseases. Diagnosis is often at an advanced stage when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, making treatment more difficult. That is why new research is needed to help identify earlier warning
signs that could lower the fatality rate for this disease.
Several risk factors are known, but most are common and can’t be changed:
- Being over the age of 60
- Being African American
- Being male
- Smoking (smokers are two to three times more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than nonsmokers)
- Having type 2 diabetes (several studies investigating the association between diabetes and pancreatic cancer exist, but there is disagreement among researchers about whether diabetes is a risk factor for or potential consequence of pancreatic cancer)6
- Having a family history of pancreatic, ovarian, or colon cancer. If a person has an immediate family member who has any of these types of cancer, his or her chance of developing pancreatic cancer is tripled.7
Research has shown that family history or shared genes were a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. In August 2009, new light was shed on the role of genes when a new study showed that people with blood type O may have a lower risk of pancreatic cancer than those with blood types A, B, or AB. The study was conducted by a group of researchers from several academic institutions that are part of the Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium, which is affiliated with the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
8 The group hopes to further examine genetic risks, and future findings could help increase early detection and prevention of pancreatic cancer.
Regardless of blood type and other risk factors, individuals can reduced their risk of developing pancreatic cancer by lowering controllable risk factors. A 2003 study conducted by Dr. P Ghadirian and Dr. H.T. Lynch revealed that a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, Vitamin C, and fiber might actually reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
9 Other risk factors, such as smoking or diabetes related to weight gain, can be reduced by quitting smoking and maintaining a healthy weight, which decreases a person’s risk of many other diseases as well.
References
1. The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center (2009). Participating in research: specific to African-American population. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
http://www.path.jhu.edu/pancreas/PartAfAm.php?area=pa (Accessed September 16, 2009).
2. American Cancer Society (2009). Can cancer of the pancreas be found early?
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_Can_pancreatic_cancer_be_found_early_34.asp?sitearea= (Accessed September 16, 2009).
3. Office of Budget and Finance. Fiscal year 2008 fact book. National Cancer Institute
http://obf.cancer.gov/financial/factbook.htm (Accessed September 16, 2009).
4. Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (2009). Public figures affected by pancreatic cancer.
http://www.pancan.org/Press/docs/public_figures_victims_051409.pdf (Accessed September 4, 2009).
5. American Cancer Society (2009). All about pancreatic cancer.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/CRI_2x.asp?sitearea=CRI&level=1 (Accessed September 4, 2009).
6. Coughlin SS, Calle EE, Teras LR, Petrelli J, Thun MJ (2004). Diabetes mellitus as a predictor of cancer mortality in a large cohort of US adults.
American Journal of Epidemiology, 159: 1160-1167.
7. National Cancer Institute (2002, September 16). Pancreatic cancer: who’s at risk? U.S. National Institutes of Health.
http://nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/pancreas/page4 (Accessed September 9, 2009).
8. Amundadottir L, Kraft P, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, et al (2009, August 2). Genome-wide association study identifies variants in the ABO locus associated with susceptibility to pancreatic cancer.
Nature Genetics, September 2009; 41(9): 986-990.
9. Ghadirian P, Lynch HT, and Krewski D (2003). Epidemiology of pancreatic cancer: an overview.
Cancer Detection and Prevention, 27(2): 87-93.
