B.C. researchers link pancreatic cancer to daily alcohol consumption

Drinking more than 24 grams of alcohol per day — just under two standard drinks — is linked to a 10 to 30 per cent increase in risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a new study from University of Victoria researchers published in the International Journal of Drug and Alcohol Research.

The World Health Organization currently lists seven types of cancer as linked to alcohol, including mouth, breast and colon cancers. Pancreatic cancer is not yet on that list, though UVic researchers say evidence is mounting.

Tim Naimi, director of UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and lead author of the study, said the research contributes to a growing body of evidence pointing to alcohol as a cause of pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is deadly. Only about 12 per cent of Canadians survive five years after diagnosis, according to UVic.

For the study, researchers analyzed 37 existing cohort studies — which follow groups of people over time — to examine the link between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer risk. They focused on studies that avoided what researchers call "former drinker" bias, where people who quit drinking are counted as abstainers rather than as former heavy drinkers. That distinction matters: people who quit often do so because of existing health problems, including early signs of cancer.

"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," said Jinhui Zhao, one of the paper's lead authors.

The analysis found pancreatic cancer risk increased significantly at 24 grams of alcohol daily, with an additional 2.4 per cent increase in risk for each 10-gram increment of daily alcohol consumption.