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Three antioxidants may decrease pancreatic cancer risk

Category: Cancer Detection and Tumor Markers

Researchers from Europe discovered that selenium and vitamins C and E may help decrease the risk of pancreatic cancer. These findings may be relevant to individuals who take a lab test to determine whether they are likely to develop the malignant disease.

Vitamins C and E, as well as the mineral selenium, are antioxidants that may help neutralize the effects of free radicals. Such compounds may cause genetic damage, which, alongside factors such as type 2 diabetes and poor diet, may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Every year, more than a quarter of a million people around the world die from this disease.

In order to understand the effects of diet, a team of scientists reviewed food surveys completed by more than 23,000 individuals aged 40 to 74. Between 1993 and 2010, some 86 study participants developed pancreatic cancer.

Analysis of the surveys revealed that individuals in the top quartile of consumption of vitamins C, E and selenium were 67 percent less likely to have pancreatic cancer than people in the bottom quartile.

"If a causal association is confirmed by reporting consistent findings from other epidemiological studies, then population based dietary recommendations may help to prevent pancreatic cancer," the researchers said.

In the meantime, individuals who are concerned about their risk of pancreatic cancer may undergo a lab test for several disease markers.