Pancreatic Cancer: Risk Factors

A risk factor is anything that may increase your chances of having a disease. Risk factors for a certain type of cancer might include smoking, diet, family history, and many other things. The exact cause of someone's cancer may not be known. But risk factors can make it more likely for a person to get cancer.

Things you should know about risk factors for cancer:

• Risk factors can increase a person's risk, but they don't always cause the disease.
• Some people with risk factors never get cancer. Other people with cancer have no known risk factors.
• Some risk factors are well-known. But there's ongoing research about risk factors for many types of cancer.

Some risk factors, such as family history, may not be in your control. But others may be things you can change. Knowing the risk factors can help you make choices that might lower your risk. For example, if not eating a healthy diet is a risk factor, you may choose to eat healthy foods. If excess weight is a risk factor, you may decide to try to lose weight.

Anyone can get pancreatic cancer. But there are some factors that can increase your risk, such as:

• Older age. Your risk of pancreatic cancer goes up as you get older. Pancreatic cancer is rare before age 45. Most people are 65 or older when they're diagnosed.
• Sex. Men are more likely to get pancreatic cancer than women. Talk to your doctor if you have questions about your risk.
• Ancestry. African Americans and people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent are slightly more likely to get pancreatic cancer.
• Tobacco use. The use of any type of tobacco (including chewing tobacco and vaping) increases your risk for this cancer.
• Having obesity. Being at a much higher weight raises your risk for having and dying from pancreatic cancer.
• Diabetes. People with long-term diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, are at increased risk for this cancer.
• Chronic pancreatitis. Long-term inflammation of the pancreas is linked with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer.
• Cirrhosis. Scarring of the liver increases your risk. This can result from liver damage caused by hepatitis or heavy alcohol use.
• Family history. People with family members who have had pancreatic cancer are at higher risk. But most people with pancreatic cancer do not have a family history of the disease.
• Certain inherited genetic syndromes. Certain rare, inherited syndromes are linked to gene changes that are passed on in families. Some of these can increase the risk for this cancer. These include Lynch syndrome, hereditary pancreatitis, and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. They also include hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (BRCA mutation carriers) and familial atypical multiple mole melanoma and others.
• Helicobacter pylori infection. This is a type of bacteria that can infect your stomach and cause ulcers. It also seems to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.
• Exposure to certain chemicals, especially in the workplace. People who are exposed to certain chemicals at work, like certain dyes, pesticides, dry-cleaning products, and benzene, might have a higher risk of pancreatic cancer.

Other factors might affect pancreatic cancer risk. These include not eating a healthy diet, not being physically active, and heavy alcohol use. Research on these and other risk factors is ongoing.

Talk with your doctor about your risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Ask what you can do about them. Some risk factors, like your age, are not under your control. But there are some things you can do that might help lower your risk.

• Don’t smoke, vape, or use other tobacco or nicotine products. If you need help quitting, talk to your doctor about quit programs and medicines. These can increase your chances of quitting for good.
• Avoid alcohol. If you choose to drink, limit alcohol to 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink a day for women.
• Reach and stay at a weight that's healthy for you. Eating a healthy diet and staying active can help.
• Avoid exposure to chemicals that might increase your risk. If you work with chemicals, use protective gear.

Screening is the process of looking for disease in people who don't have symptoms. Screening for pancreatic cancer in the general population is not recommended by any major medical group in the United States at this time. But if you have a strong family history of pancreatic cancer, you might want to talk with your doctor about screening. Or you can ask about genetic counseling and testing to help see if you are at a higher risk. Some people who have an increased risk might benefit from screening.

If your doctor thinks screening might be helpful, an endoscopic ultrasound might be done. This test uses a thin tube called an endoscope with a tiny ultrasound probe on the end. The scope is passed down your throat, through your stomach, and into the first part of your small intestine. A computer uses the sound waves from the probe to make pictures of your pancreas on a screen. If a tumor is seen, a small, hollow needle can be passed through the scope to take small pieces of the tumor for testing. This is called a biopsy. Your doctor can also use other imaging scans, such as an MRI, to check for pancreatic cancer.