ALCOHOL AND PANCREATIC-CANCER IN BLACKS AND WHITES IN THE UNITED-STATES

A population-based, case-control study of pancreatic cancer based on d irect interviews with 307 white and 179 black incident cases and 1164 white and 945 black population controls was conducted in three areas o f the United States to determine the role alcohol drinking plays as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer and to estimate the extent to which it may explain the higher incidence of pancreatic cancer in blacks com pared to whites. Our findings indicate that alcohol drinking at the Le vels typically consumed by the general population of the United States is probably not a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Our data suggest , however, that heavy alcohol drinking may be related to pancreatic ca ncer risk. Among men, blacks and whites who drank at least 57 drinks/w eek had odds ratios (ORs) of 2.2 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.9-5 .6] and 1.4 (95% CI = 0.6-3.2), respectively. Among women, blacks who drank 8 to <21 drinks/week had an OR of 1.8 (95% CI = 0.8-4.0), and th ose who drank at least 21 drinks/week had an OR of 2.5 (95% CI = 1.02- 5.9), but whites with the same levels of alcohol intake experienced no increased risk. Compared to whites, blacks had significantly higher O Rs associated with heavy alcohol drinking (greater than or equal to 57 drinks/week) in men (P = 0.04) and with moderate-to-heavy drinking (g reater than or equal to 8 drinks/week) in women (P = 0.03). Additional research is needed to determine whether heavy alcohol drinking is cau sally related to pancreatic cancer and whether the risk of alcohol-rel ated pancreatic cancer is greater in blacks than in whites.