Pancreatic Cancer: Soft drink consumption may increase the risk

According to a report in a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks. Although rare, pancreatic cancer remains one of the most deadly now and only 5 percent of people who are diagnosed are alive five years later.

Mark Pereira, Ph.D., senior author on the study and associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, said “people who consume soft drinks on a regular basis, defined as primarily carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages, tend to have a poor behavioral profile overall.” But the effect of these drinks on pancreatic cancer may be unique.

Pereira said “The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth,”.

Pereira and colleagues followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years,for the current study . During that time, there were 140 pancreatic cancer cases. Those subjects who consumed two or more soft drinks per week , averaging five per week had an 87 percent increased risk compared with individuals who did not. But no association was seen between fruit juice consumption and pancreatic cancer.

Pereira said that these results are from Singapore,but these results are likely applicable to the United States.Pereira said “Singapore is a wealthy country with excellent health care. Favorite pastimes are eating and shopping, so the findings should apply to other western countries.”

Susan Mayne, Ph.D., associate director of the Yale Cancer Center and professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, said  “Although this study found a risk, the finding was based on a relatively small number of cases and it remains unclear whether it is a causal association or not. Soft drink consumption in Singapore was associated with several other adverse health behaviors such as smoking and red meat intake, which we can’t accurately control for.”

Pereira also points out that the findings are biologically plausible,and held up in non-smokers,and it remained similar after taking other dietary habits into account and are consistent with findings in Caucasian populations.