Anthropometric Measures, Body Mass Index, and Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States¹ and is responsible for about 227 000 deaths per year worldwide.² Because of the lack of effective screening tests for pancreatic cancer, it is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, contributing to a 5-year survival rate that is less than 5%.³ The incidence of pancreatic cancer is higher in men than in women, and in the United States, it is higher in blacks than in whites.³ Smoking, diabetes mellitus, and a family history of pancreatic cancer are known risk factors,^4,5 but these factors do not account for all the cases of pancreatic cancer.