Pancreatic Cancer Risk Factors
In the interest of good health, it is important to become familiar with pancreatic cancer risk factors. As the old saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." And when you know the risk factors, you can learn how to change your level of risk for pancreatic cancer.
Though you can take action to lower many risks for cancer of the pancreas, there are a few that you cannot change. The first and most common risk factor is age. Through there have been cases of pancreatic cancer in people of all ages, the vast majority occurs in people over the age of 50. Most of these cases are diagnosed in people between 60 and 80 years old. Usually pancreatic cancer only occurs in younger people because of other factors.
Close blood relatives such as parents and siblings with a history of pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, bladder and kidney cancer, and atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer tumors, presumably because of the type of tissue these cancers affect. Familial breast cancer and mutations of the gene BRCA2, pancreatitis, and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome also raise the risk by a few percent. Around 10% of people with pancreas cancer have a family history of the condition.
Gender and race are also pancreatic cancer risk factors. Males generally develop the disease more often than women do, though there is a recent trend toward pancreatic cancer in women. Where race is concerned, people of native African descent have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than Caucasians, Hispanics, or Asians. They currently lead the world population in pancreas cancer incidences. There are risk factors you can change, however. The most well known of these is cigarette smoking. Chewing tobacco causes these effects, though cigarettes are more common. Tobacco contains toxic, carcinogenic chemicals called nitrosamines. These chemicals, also produced by the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers (H. pylori), damage the cells' DNA, causing tumors to form. Adenocarcinomas, cancerous tumor on glands, occur two to three times more often in smokers than those who do not smoke. Currently about 30% of cases of pancreatic cancer involve cigarette smoking. If you smoke, you have a 2 to 10 times greater risk for pancreatic cancer than people who don't smoke. As with almost all diseases, diet plays a role. For cancer of the pancreas, diets high in red and grilled meat, fat, sugar, and processed foods, and low in fiber, fruits, and vegetables increase your risk for developing the disease. This is not new information, as all healthcare professionals will tell you such diets are dangerous. Besides the direct effect these foods have on the pancreas's cells, another risk of an unhealthy diet is obesity. Researches are still trying to find definite proof of the link between obesity and pancreatic cancer, but obesity's role in other diseases is a definite clue. As the evidence shows, pancreatic cancer risk factors are the same risk factors for other diseases. Therefore, the best way to remain free of pancreatic tumors is to live a healthy, active lifestyle free of tobacco, and to eat a healthy, balanced, high-fiber diet.
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