Study links sugary soft drinks to pancreas cancer

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Study links sugary soft drinks to pancreas cancer

Mon Feb 8, 2010 12:00am EST

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN07113352

* Regular soda drinkers had 87 percent higher risk

* Theory is that sugar fuels tumors

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - People who drink two or more sweetened soft

drinks a week have a much higher risk of pancreatic cancer, an unusual but

deadly cancer, researchers reported on Monday.

People who drank mostly fruit juice instead of sodas did not have the same

risk, the study of 60,000 people in Singapore found.

Sugar may be to blame but people who drink sweetened sodas regularly often

have other poor health habits, said Mark Pereira of the University of

Minnesota, who led the study.

" The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of

insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell

growth, " Pereira said in a statement.

Insulin, which helps the body metabolize sugar, is made in the pancreas.

Writing in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Pereira

and colleagues said they followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore

Chinese Health Study for 14 years.

Over that time, 140 of the volunteers developed pancreatic cancer. Those who

drank two or more soft drinks a week had an 87 percent higher risk of being

among those who got pancreatic cancer.

Pereira said he believed the findings would apply elsewhere.

" Singapore is a wealthy country with excellent healthcare. Favorite pastimes

are eating and shopping, so the findings should apply to other western

countries, " he said.

But Mayne of the Yale Cancer Center at Yale University in Connecticut

was cautious.

" Although this study found a risk, the finding was based on a relatively

small number of cases and it remains unclear whether it is a causal

association or not, " said Mayne, who serves on the board of the journal,

which is published by the American Association for Cancer Research.

" Soft drink consumption in Singapore was associated with several other

adverse health behaviors such as smoking and red meat intake, which we can't

accurately control for. "

Other studies have linked pancreatic cancer to red meat, especially burned

or charred meat.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with 230,000

cases globally. In the United States, 37,680 people are diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer in a year and 34,290 die of it.

The American Cancer Society says the five-year survival rate for pancreatic

cancer patients is about 5 percent.

Some researchers believe high sugar intake may fuel some forms of cancer,

although the evidence has been contradictory. Tumor cells use more glucose

than other cells.

One 12-ounce (355 ml) can of non-diet soda contains about 130 calories,

almost all of them from sugar. (Editing by O'Callaghan)