Smoking pancreatic cancer

Although earlier work had showed a positive association between coffee consumption and pancreatic cancer rates across countries,2 it was the much-publicized case-control study of MacMahon et al.3 in 1981 that attracted widespread attention to the question of a possible link. In that study, which was designed primarily to investigate the role of smoking and alcohol in pancreatic cancer, 369 pancreatic cancer patients prior to diagnosis and 644 hospital controls reported their typical daily coffee and tea consumption. Unexpectedly, the authors found a significantly increased risk of pancreatic cancer associated with coffee consumption (overall rela-... 

Many dietary and environmental factors have been implicated as possible etiologic factors in the development of pancreatic cancer, but no definite causal relationships have been established. The strongest evidence points to cigarette smoking as a risk factor associated with pancreatic cancer (20-24). Occupational exposure to certain chemicals has also been linked to pancreatic carcinoma (25). Others in the high-risk group include stone miners, cement workers, gardeners, textile workers, and leather tanners (17,26). 

Zheng W, et al. A cohort study of smoking, alcohol consumption, and dietary factors for pancreatic cancer (United States). Cancer Causes Control 1993 4(5) 477-482. 

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and NNK [4-(A-methyl-nitrosamino)-l-(3-pyridinyl)-l-butanone] are the major carcinogens involved in lung cancer induction by cigarette smoke and that NNK [4-(A-methylnitrosamino)-l-(3-pyridinyl)-l-butanone] is a likely candidate for induction of pancreatic cancer in smokers. 

Chronic pancreatitis has long been thought to be mainly associated with immoderate alcohol consumption, tobacco smoke, and obesity, diets high in animal protein and fat, as well as antioxidant deficiencies. Diets high in processed or red meat, diets low in fruits and vegetables, phytochemicals such as lycopene and flavonols, have been proposed and refuted as risk or protective factors in different trials [131]. In a case-control study of 462 cases and 4,721 controls, there was a significant inverse association between lycopene intake and pancreatic cancer, after... 

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