Pancreatic cancer is not a common type of cancer and affects 7000 people in the UK each year. Although the cause of pancreatic cancer is unknown, research into this is ongoing all the time. Like other cancers, cancer of the pancreas isn’t infectious and can’t be passed on to other people.

There are a number of factors that can increase your risk of developing pancreatic cancer. These are:

Age

Pancreatic cancer occurs mainly in people aged between 60 and 80 and is rare below the age of 50. About 6 in10 are diagnosed in people over 70. Some of the rarer types, such as neuroendocrine and papillary cancer (see types), may affect people in their 20s and 30s.

Smoking

People who smoke are more at risk of developing cancer of the pancreas. Up to a third of all pancreatic cancers may be linked to smoking. People who chew tobacco are also at an increased risk.

Inflammation of the pancreas

People who have chronic pancreatitis – where the pancreas becomes inflamed – are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer. One of the main causes of chronic pancreatitis is drinking large amounts of alcohol over long periods of time. However, other types of pancreatitis are more likely to cause cancer (see section below on inherited faulty genes).

Diet

A diet that contains large amounts of fat, sugar, red or processed meat may increase your risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Your risk may also be increased if you don’t eat many fresh fruit and vegetables.

Diabetes

There may be a small increase in the risk of developing cancer of the pancreas if you have diabetes. However diabetes is very common and the vast majority of people with it won’t develop pancreatic cancer.

Inherited faulty genes

Most cancers of the pancreas are not caused by an inherited faulty gene, and so members of your family are very unlikely to be at an increased risk of pancreatic cancer because you have it.

Some people who have the faulty breast cancer genes BRCA1 or BRCA2, or the bowel conditions FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis) or HNPCC (hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer), have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

There is a rare inherited condition called hereditary pancreatitis, where family members develop pancreatitis because of a faulty gene. People with this condition have an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Members of families with a tendency to have large numbers of unusual moles (Familial Atypical Multiple Mole Melanoma – FAMMM), also have an increased risk of cancer of the pancreas.

The genetic changes which cause these cases of pancreatic cancer have not yet been found, and so currently there is no genetic test available for pancreatic cancer.