Antioxidants Help Combat Pancreatic Cancer Risk

Over 250,000 deaths worldwide are attributable to pancreatic cancer, a disease with the worst prognosis of anticancer with just 3% of people surviving beyond five years. Genetic predisposition, smoking, and type-2 diabetes are considered to be major risk factors, and new evidence suggests that diet may play a role in the disease incidence. Andrew R Hart, from the University of East Anglia (United Kingdom), and colleagues tracked the health of23,658 men and women, ages 40 to 70 years, enrolled in the Norfolk arm of the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) Study. Each subject completed a food diary, for which researchers matched the entries to their respective nutrient values. In follow-up, 49 subjects developed pancreatic cancer within 10 years of entering the study, thank, with participants surviving six months after diagnosis. Nutrient intakes of those diagnosed with the disease of the 10 years of entering the study were compared to those of 4000 healthy counterparts. The data revealed that a weekly intake of selenium in the top quartile of consumption cut the risk of developing pancreatic cancer in half, as compared to those whose intake was in the bottom quartile. Further, those with the highest intakes of vitamin C and E were 67% less likely to develop pancreatic cancer, compared to those in the lowest intake category. Writing that: “The results support measuring antioxidants in studies investigating the aetiology of pancreatic cancer,” the study authors submit that: “If the association is causal, 1 in 12 cancers might be prevented by avoiding the lowest intakes.”