Published by: AARP
“Increasing awareness of the risk factors associated with pancreatic cancer development — such as having a family history of pancreatic cancer, having a pancreas cyst on a CT or MRI scan, or developing new-onset diabetes — offers the opportunity for us to diagnose pancreatic cancer early and intervene, with the overall hope of improving patient outcome overall,” says James Farrell, who has an MB.Ch.B degree, of the Yale Center for Pancreatic Diseases at the Yale Cancer Center.
- You can lower your risk for pancreatic cancer by changing unhealthy lifestyle behaviors you can control, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and being overweight:
- About 25 percent of pancreatic cancers are thought to be caused by cigarette smoking. Cigar smoking and using smokeless tobacco raise your risk, too, according to the ACS.
- People who have obesity (BMI of 30 or higher) are about 20 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, according to the ACS. Type 2 diabetes is more common among overweight adults, and this condition raises the risk for pancreatic cancer, too, especially in those over 50 who suddenly develop type 2 diabetes without having a family history of it, Dana-Farber’s Wolpin says.
- Drinking can lead to chronic pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, which has been linked to an increase in pancreatic cancer.
- Certain risk factors for pancreatic cancer can’t be changed, but they’re important to know, and you should share yours with your doctor:
- About 10 percent of pancreatic cancers are thought to be the result of genetics. If you have a family history of the disease, talk with your doctor about whether you should be screened for it.
- A family history of other cancers and syndromes can also raise your risk for pancreatic cancer. These include hereditary breast and ovarian cancer caused by BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, and Lynch syndrome, an inherited disorder associated with colon cancer.
Data has been mixed about whether long-term use of proton pump inhibitors to reduce stomach acid, or infection with Helicobacter pylori (a bacteria that can cause ulcers), increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, Wolpin says.
Other risk factors include age, gender, and race. Men develop pancreatic cancer slightly more often than women. The risk of developing it increases with age. African Americans are more likely to get pancreatic cancer than any other racial group.