Ethanol intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association of baseline and lifetime ethanol intake with cancer of the pancreas in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).


METHODS
Included in this analysis were 478,400 subjects, of whom detailed information on the intake of alcoholic beverages at baseline and over lifetime was collected between 1992 and 2000. During a median follow-up time of 8.9 years, 555 non-endocrine pancreatic cancer cases were observed. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association of ethanol intake at recruitment and average lifetime ethanol intake and pancreatic cancer adjusting for smoking, height, weight, and history of diabetes.


RESULTS
Overall, neither ethanol intake at recruitment (relative risk (RR) = 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69-1.27 comparing 30+ g/d vs. 0.1-4.9 g/d) nor average lifetime ethanol intake (RR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.65-1.39) was associated with pancreatic cancer risk. High lifetime ethanol intake from spirits/liquor at recruitment tended to be associated with a higher risk (RR = 1.40, 95% CI 0.93-2.10 comparing 10+ g/d vs. 0.1-4.9 g/d), but no associations were observed for wine and beer consumption.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest no association of alcohol consumption with the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Rohrmann
Sabine
S
Division of Clinical Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. s.rohrmann@dkfz.de
Linseisen
Jakob
J
Vrieling
Alina
A
Boffetta
Paolo
P
Stolzenberg-Solomon
Rachael Z
RZ
Lowenfels
Albert B
AB
Jensen
Majken K
MK
Overvad
Kim
K
Olsen
Anja
A
Tjonneland
Anne
A
Boutron-Ruault
Marie-Christine
MC
Clavel-Chapelon
Francoise
F
Fagherazzi
G
G
Misirli
Gesthimani
G
Lagiou
Pagona
P
Trichopoulou
Antonia
A
Kaaks
Rudolf
R
Bergmann
Manuela M
MM
Boeing
Heiner
H
Bingham
Sheila
S
Khaw
Kay-Tee
KT
Allen
Naomi
N
Roddam
Andrew
A
Palli
Domenico
D
Pala
Valeria
V
Panico
Salvatore
S
Tumino
Rosario
R
Vineis
Paolo
P
Peeters
Petra H M
PH
Hjartåker
Anette
A
Lund
Eiliv
E
Redondo Cornejo
Ma Luisa
ML
Agudo
Antonio
A
Arriola
Larraitz
L
Sánchez
Maria-José
MJ
Tormo
María-José
MJ
Barricarte Gurrea
Aurelio
A
Lindkvist
Björn
B
Manjer
Jonas
J
Johansson
Ingegerd
I
Ye
Weimin
W
Slimani
Nadia
N
Duell
Eric J
EJ
Jenab
Mazda
M
Michaud
Dominique S
DS
Mouw
Traci
T
Riboli
Elio
E
Bueno-de-Mesquita
H Bas
HB
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors