Smoking a Risk for Pancreatic Cancer
Reported November 11, 2004
(Ivanhoe Newswire) –Tobacco may trigger early onset of pancreatic cancer in those with a genetic predisposition to the disease, according to a new study.
Researchers from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., studied 826 patients with pancreatic cancer. Thirty of these patients had familial pancreatic cancer, which means the patient has a first-degree relative with the disease.
Researchers found earlier age at diagnosis and a smoking history were marked features among the familial group. Nearly 20-percent more of patients with the familial form were diagnosed before age 50 than those with sporadic pancreatic cancer. Also, about 20-percent more of the former group smoked cigarettes — familial pancreatic cancer’s most important risk factor — than the latter group.
Pancreatic cancer is rare and has a 4-percent five-year survival rate. Only a small percentage of patients have the familial form.
Researchers conclude, “Patients with a family history of pancreatic cancer must be strongly counseled against smoking, and smokers with a family history of pancreatic cancer should be informed of their increased risk and offered enrollment into a smoking cessation program.”
SOURCE: CANCER, published online Nov. 8, 2004
