High carbohydrate diets increase pancreatic cancer rates

This study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2002 Sep 4;94(17):1293-300

Study title and authors:

Dietary sugar, glycemic load, and pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective study.

Michaud DS, Liu S, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Fuchs CS.

Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. michaudd@mail.nih.gov

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12208894

The study investigated whether diets high in foods that increase after meal glucose levels are associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. The dietary habits of 88,802 women were analysed over an 18 year period.

The study found:
(a) The women who ate the most carbohydrates had a 30% increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the women who ate the least.
(b) The women who ate foods with the highest glycemic load values had a 53% increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the women who ate foods with the lowest glycemic load values.
(c)  The women who ate the most fructose (fruit sugar)  had a 57% increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to the women who ate the least.

The study shows that women who eat a high carbohydrate diet, especially one with foods with high glycemic load values, have increased rates of pancreatic cancer.