title: Gallstones, cholecystectomy, and the risk for developing pancreatic cancer.
abstract: We examined the relation between gallstones, cholecystectomy, and the development of pancreatic cancer in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Among 104,856 women and 48,928 men without cancer at baseline, we documented 349 cases of pancreatic cancer during up to 16 years of follow-up. Participants were classified according to a history of gallstones or cholecystectomy. The age-adjusted relative risk of pancreatic cancer following cholecystectomy or diagnosis of gallstones was 1.31 (95% CI, 0.93-1.83). However, adjustment for other pancreatic cancer risk factors attenuated the association (RR=1.11, 95% CI, 0.78-1.56); this risk did not increase with increasing time following cholecystectomy or gallstones. Gallstones or cholecystectomy do not appear to be significant risk factors for pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. eva.schernhammer@channing.harvard.edu
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Schernhammer
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Leitzmann
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giovannucci
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Colditz
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Fuchs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000150:complications*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors