According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in men and women. In 2001, about 29,200 people in the US will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and only two out of 10 patients will live one year or more after the cancer is found. Very few will survive for five years.

Dominique Michaud, ScD, an investigator with the Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, and colleagues examined the link between coffee and alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer risk in a group of nearly 136,593 participants comprised of a similar number of men and women. None had a history of cancer when they entered the study.

All the participants were asked questions about their intake of coffee and alcohol (wine, beer, and liquor) at the beginning of the study and throughout the study period. The researchers then counted the number of cases of pancreatic cancer cases that developed in men over a 12-year period and in women over a 16-year period. Among the participants, 288 cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed, 130 among the men and 158 among the women.

The researchers reported no increase in risk of pancreatic cancer among those who drank more than three cups of coffee per day or those who drank 30 grams or more alcohol per day (just over two beers, about 3 glasses of wine, or two standard liquor drinks), compared to those who did not drink either coffee or alcohol.

They also found no relationship between pancreatic cancer and consumption of tea, decaffeinated coffee, or caffeine from other sources such as soda or food.

Although this study and many previous studies have shown that drinking coffee or alcohol does not increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, this study follows in the wake of an earlier study of nearly 34,000 participants that did find a strong link between drinking 18 or more cups of coffee per week and pancreatic cancer. In the same study, drinking alcohol also increased the risk of pancreatic cancer, but to a lesser extent.

But Michaud says, "Given our findings, and those of other studies on this subject, it is unlikely that coffee drinking is related to pancreatic cancer."

"Smokers may have a slightly higher risk of pancreatic cancer if they consume alcohol," Michaud says. "At least among nonsmokers, alcohol does not appear to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, but larger studies will be needed to confirm this finding."

Michael Thun, MD, ACS vice president for epidemiology and research, says that based on a large number of studies showing no consistent relationship, neither coffee nor alcohol consumption are considered risk factors for pancreatic cancer.

"The [ACS] Cancer Prevention Study II, published in 2000, used data from over one million participants and found no association between consumption of either beverage and death from pancreatic cancer," he notes.

Future studies should focus on developing a test for pancreatic cancer that can diagnose this cancer at an earlier stage, according to Thun. "Fewer than 5% of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive for five or more years because most of the cancers have already spread at the time of diagnosis," Thun emphasizes.