Researchers at the University of Victoria say there is growing evidence linking alcohol consumption with pancreatic cancer, a finding that could prompt the World Health Organization to expand its list of alcohol-related cancers.
Study Details and Findings
The study, published in the International Journal of Drug and Alcohol Research, analyzed 37 cohort studies and found that drinking more than 24 grams of alcohol per day—equivalent to a little under two standard drinks—was associated with a 10 to 30 percent increase in the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Additionally, each 10-gram increment of daily alcohol intake raised the cancer risk by 2.4 percent.
Tim Naimi, director of UVic’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and an author of the study, noted that a growing body of evidence points to alcohol as a cause of pancreatic cancer. “This study contributes to that evidence,” he said.
Pancreatic Cancer Severity
Pancreatic cancer is particularly deadly, with only about 12 percent of Canadians surviving five years after diagnosis, according to UVic. The World Health Organization currently lists seven types of cancer as linked to alcohol consumption, including mouth, breast, and colon cancer. UVic researchers argue that pancreatic cancer should be added to that list.
Avoiding Former Drinker Bias
The researchers focused on studies that avoided “former drinker” bias, where people who had quit drinking were counted as abstainers. Jinhui Zhao, one of the lead authors, explained that “often people who identify as abstainers in these cohort studies used to be heavy drinkers who quit due to health reasons, meaning they may still be feeling long-term effects of alcohol use, including cancer cases.” By separating former drinkers from lifetime abstainers, the study avoided spurious protective associations at low consumption levels and suppressed risk estimates at higher levels.
The report concludes that failing to make this distinction may yield misleading results. The findings add to the call for stronger public health messaging about the risks of alcohol consumption.
