The burden of pancreatic cancer in Australia attributable to smoking

Using seven prospective Australian study cohorts, with a sample size of 365,084 adults, this study estimates the burden of pancreatic cancer in Australia which is attributable to modifiable exposures, particularly smoking. There were 604 incident cases of pancreatic cancer during the first 10 years of follow-up. Results show that nearly 22% of the future burden of pancreatic cancer is attributable to current and former smoking, 15% (5500 cases over the next 10 years) to current smoking alone. The smoking-related burden of pancreatic cancer is markedly higher for men and for people under 65. There were no independent relationships between body mass index or alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer. Strategies to reduce the uptake of smoking and encourage current smokers to quit could substantially reduce the future incidence of pancreatic cancer in Australia, particularly among men. Read the full text