Studypancreatic cancer to high sugar intake

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Study links pancreatic cancer to high sugar intake

Diabetes Kills 3.16M a Year Worldwide

 

 

 

Nov 8, 2006 — STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - People who drink large

quantities of fizzy drinks or add sugar to coffee or tea run a

higher risk of developing cancer of the pancreas, Swedish research

showed on Wednesday.

 

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute studied the diets of almost

80,000 men and women between 1997 and 2005. A total of 131 developed

pancreatic cancer, a deadly form of the disease that is difficult to

treat.

 

" The researchers have now been able to show that the risk of

developing pancreatic cancer is related to the amount of sugar in

the diet, " the institute said in a statement.

 

The group of people who said they drank fizzy or syrup-based drinks

twice a day or more ran a 90 percent higher risk of getting cancer

of the pancreas than those who never drank them.

 

The risk was 70 percent higher for those who added sugar to their

drinks about five times a day, and 50 percent for those eating

creamed fruit, a sugary, fruit-based Swedish dessert, at least once

a day, according to the research published in the American Journal

of Clinical Nutrition.

 

" Despite the fact that the chances of developing pancreatic cancer

are relatively small, it's important to learn more about the risk

factors behind the disease, " Susanna Larsson, one of the researchers

involved in the study, said in the statement.

 

About 216,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer, mostly in developed

countries, are diagnosed each year. The illness is most common in

people aged over 60. It is difficult to treat because it is often

not diagnosed until it has spread beyond the pancreas.

 

" It is perhaps the most serious form of cancer, with very poor

prognoses for its victims. Since it's difficult to treat and is

often discovered too late, it's particularly important that we learn

to prevent it, " Larsson said.