Pancreatitis is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
OBJECTIVE
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains a computerized file of all hospital discharges since 1970. In taking advantage of this large database, the present study aimed to determine whether pancreatitis is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.


METHODS
A case control study compared the occurrence of pancreatitis in 2639 patients with pancreatic cancer and a matched control group of 7774 subjects using multivariate conditional logistic regression.


RESULTS
The odds ratio associated with pancreatitis increased from 2.04 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53-2.72) 7 or more years before the first diagnosis of cancer to 2.14 (CI, 1.68-2.72) 3 or more years before cancer diagnosis and to 2.31 (CI, 1.87-2.86) 1 or more years before cancer diagnosis. In a multivariate analysis, all types of pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis alone were associated with a significant risk, their odds ratios being 3.42 (CI, 1.98-5.91) and 2.23 (CI, 1.43-3.49), respectively. No influence was exerted by other variables, such as history of gallstone disease or alcoholism, frequency of hospital discharges with pancreatitis, and length of coverage in the VA system.


CONCLUSIONS
A history of pancreatitis constitutes a significant risk for subsequent development of pancreatic cancer. The increase of the risk with decreasing time before the diagnosis of cancer may indicate that a fraction of pancreatic cancers are initially misdiagnosed as pancreatitis.
Bansal
P
P
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Sonnenberg
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index