A COHORT STUDY OF SMOKING, ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION, AND DIETARY FACTORS FOR PANCREATIC-CANCER (UNITED-STATES)

Risk factors for pancreatic cancer were evaluated in a cohort study of 17,633 White men in the United States who responded to a mailed quest ionnaire in 1966 and were followed-up through 1986 for mortality. Ciga rette smoking and alcohol consumption were found to be important risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Risks increased significantly with numb er of cigarettes smoked, reaching fourfold for smokers of 25 or more c igarettes per day relative to nonsmokers. Alcohol intake also was rela ted significantly to risk, with consumers of 10 or more drinks per mon th having three times the risk of nondrinkers, but dose-response trend s among drinkers were not smooth. Coffee consumption was unrelated to risk. Dietary analyses revealed a rising rate of pancreatic cancer mor tality with increasing consumption of meat after adjustment for other risk factors. Men in the highest quartile of meat intake had about thr ee times the risk of those in the lowest quartile. No consistent assoc iation, however, was observed for consumption of fruits, vegetables, o r grains. This study confirms cigarette smoking as an important risk f actor for pancreatic cancer, and provides evidence that elevated intak e of alcohol and meat may increase the risk of this fatal malignancy.