Researchers have identified a link between hepatitis B infection and pancreatic cancer.
Manal Hassan and colleagues at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center found that evidence of past hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was more than twice as common in people with pancreatic cancer than in people without the disease.
The study of 476 pancreatic cancer patients and 879 healthy controls revealed that 7.6% of cancer patients had previously been exposed to HBV, compared to just 3.2% of controls. The association remained statistically significant even after the researchers made adjustments for known risk factors of pancreatic cancer, such as smoking and diabetes. The study also revealed that people with previous exposure to HBV and diabetes were 7 times more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than controls.
The authors conclude: “Past exposure to HBV may be associated with pancreatic cancer development. Should such findings be confirmed by other studies.”
Hassan MM, Li D, El-Deeb AS, Wolff RA, Bondy ML, Davila M, Abbruzzese JL. Association between hepatitis b virus and pancreatic cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2008;26:4557-4562.
