B.C. researchers add pancreatic cancer to list of alcohol-related cancers

University of Victoria researchers say a growing body of evidence points to alcohol consumption as a cause of pancreatic cancer. Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD /AFP via Getty Images

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Researchers at the University of Victoria say there’s more evidence linking alcohol consumption with pancreatic cancer.

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The study, published in the International Journal of Drug and Alcohol Research, found drinking more than 24 grams of alcohol per day — a little under two drinks — was associated with a 10 to 30 per cent increase in risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

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The World Health Organization lists seven types of cancer, including mouth, breast and colon cancer, as being linked to alcohol consumption.

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Tim Naimi, director of UVic’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and author of the study said there has been a growing body of evidence pointing to alcohol consumption as a cause of pancreatic cancer, and this study contributes to that evidence.

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Pancreatic cancer is a deadly form of the disease, with only about 12 per cent of Canadians surviving five years after diagnosis, according to UVic.

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For the study, researchers analyzed existing cohort studies, which follow groups of people over time, to find evidence of the link between pancreatic cancer and alcohol intake in these types of studies.

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They narrowed in on studies that avoided “former drinker” bias, where people who had quit drinking alcohol were counted as abstainers, as opposed to only counting people who never or rarely drank alcohol as abstainers.

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“Often people who identify as abstainers in these cohort studies used to be heavy drinkers who quit due to health reasons, meaning they may still be feeling long-term effects of alcohol use, including cancer cases,” said Jinhui Zhao, one of the paper’s lead authors in a statement released by UVic.

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They analyzed 37 cohort studies and found risk of developing pancreatic cancer significantly increased over 24 grams a day. They also said there was a 2.4 per cent increase in cancer risk for each 10-gram increment of alcohol per day.

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Failing to separate former drinkers from lifetime abstainers may yield spurious protective associations at low levels of consumption and may suppress risk estimates at higher levels, the report concludes.

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