SMOKING, ALCOHOL, COFFEE, AND TEA INTAKE AND INCIDENCE OF CANCER OF THE EXOCRINE PANCREAS - THE IOWA WOMENS HEALTH STUDY

To assess the relationship of smoking and coffee, tea, and alcohol int ake to the risk of cancer of the exocrine pancreas, analyses were perf ormed using data from a prospective cohort study of 33,976 postmenopau sal Iowa women who responded to a mailed questionnaire in 1986 and wer e followed through 1994 for cancer incidence and total mortality. At b aseline, information on cigarette smoking, consumption of tea, coffee, and alcoholic beverages, and other dietary and lifestyle factors was obtained. Age-adjusted relative risks of pancreatic cancer (n = 66 cas es) showed a dose-response association with smoking. Those with fewer than 20 pack-years and those with 20 or more pack-years of smoking exp osure were 1.14 (95% confidence interval, 0.53-2.45) and 1.92 (95% con fidence interval, 1.12-2.30) times more likely, respectively, to devel op pancreatic cancer than were nonsmokers. Current smokers were twice as likely as were nonsmokers to develop pancreatic cancer. Relative ri sks of pancreatic cancer increased with the amount of alcohol consumed (P-trend = 0.11) after adjustment for age, smoking status, and pack-y ears of smoking. Relative risks of pancreatic cancer according to alco holic beverage intake were as strong among never-smokers as they were in the total cohort, After the data were adjusted for age, smoking sta tus, and pack-years of smoking, there was a statistically significant 2-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.08-4.30) elevated risk of pancreati c cancer for those who drank >17.5 cups of coffee per week, compared t o those who consumed <7 cups/week; among never-smokers, the relative r isks across coffee intake categories were still positive but were atte nuated somewhat (P-trend 0.17). Tea intake was not related to cancer i ncidence. In summary, these findings provide evidence of an associatio n of both alcoholic beverage and coffee consumption with pancreatic ca ncer incidence that is independent of age and cigarette smoking.