Pancreatic cancer centre

Pancreatic cancer causes and risk factors

What causes pancreatic cancer?

The causes of pancreatic cancer are still not clear. However, doctors do know there are some risk factors that increase a person's chance of developing pancreatic cancer.

Cancer of the pancreas can develop at any age, but it is more common in people aged between 75 and over.

Pancreatic cancer develops when a cell in the pancreas receives damage to its DNA that causes it to behave and multiply abnormally, leading to a tumour growing.

What are pancreatic cancer risk factors?

People with any of these risk factors are more likely than others to develop pancreatic cancer: 

• Age: Pancreatic cancer is more common in older people.
• Family. Having a close family member with pancreatic cancer increases a person's own risk.
• Diabetes. People with diabetes are more likely to get pancreatic cancer. It isn’t known if diabetes causes pancreatic cancer, or if the pancreas starts to malfunction before cancer develops, causing diabetes.
• Smoking. Smoking is linked to around a third of pancreatic cancer cases.
• Chronic pancreatitis. Chronic pancreatitis, in which the pancreas becomes inflamed increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. People with rare inherited pancreatitis have a considerably higher risk from their 40s.
• Obesity and inactivity. In a study of 88,000 nurses, those who were obese ( body mass index higher than 30) were more likely to develop pancreatic cancer. Those who exercised frequently were about half as likely to get pancreatic cancer, compared to those who did not exercise at all.
• Diet. A diet high in processed meat may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Although eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables is good for health in general, according to Cancer Research UK studies have shown no effect from eating fruit and vegetables with regards the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Eliminating your risk factors for pancreatic cancer won't reduce your pancreatic cancer risk entirely. But eating a healthy diet, keeping a healthy weight, and exercising frequently will improve overall health, and reduce your risk of other health problems.