Soft Drinks Could Boost Pancreatic Cancer Risk

Soft Drinks Could Boost Pancreatic Cancer Risk

http://www.usnews.com/health/diet-fitness/diabetes/articles/2010/02/08/soft-drinks-could-boost-pancreatic-cancer-risk.html

Posted: February 8, 2010

MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- People who down two or more soft drinks a week may have double the risk of developing deadly pancreatic cancer, compared to non-soda drinkers, new research suggests.

But the overall number of people developing the malignancy remains low, with the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimating 42,470 new cases last year.

"Soft drinks are linked with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer," said Noel Mueller, lead author of a study appearing in the February issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. "We can't speculate too much on the mechanism because this is an observational study, but the increased risk may be working through effects of the hormone insulin."

Still, the report should not cause undue alarm, some say.

"The study was well designed but smaller than some previous studies that did not find a link between sugar-sweetened soft drinks and pancreatic cancer," noted Eric Jacobs, strategic director of pharmacoepidemiology at the American Cancer Society. "Direct evidence linking sugar-sweetened soft drinks to pancreatic cancer remains limited."