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Risk factors are things that raise your chances of getting a disease. For each person, there’s a mix of lifestyle, biological and genetic factors that play a part in pancreatic cancer risk.
Take Charge of Your Health
Talk to your primary care provider if you have symptoms that you think may be pancreatic cancer. UW Medicine Primary Care can help you get started with screening. Learn about Fred Hutch's relationship with UW Medicine.
Risk Factors for Pancreatic Cancer
These factors may affect your pancreatic cancer risk:
- Smoking — Adenocarcinomas (the most common type of pancreatic cancer) are two to three times more common in heavy smokers than in nonsmokers.
- Age — Though pancreatic cancers are sometimes found in young people, most are found in people over 60.
- Sex — Men are diagnosed slightly more often than women.
- Ethnicity — African Americans, Ashkenazi Jews and Native Hawaiians have the highest rates of pancreatic cancer. Asians and Hispanics have the lowest rates.
- Diet — A diet high in meats and fats has been linked to increased risk. Heavy alcohol use is also a risk factor.
- Weight — Being overweight or obese raises the risk for pancreatic cancer. If you carry extra weight in your belly, you might be at higher risk even if you don’t have obesity.
- Diabetes — People with type 2 diabetes are at higher risk. (Also, the sudden start of diabetes might be a sign of pancreatic cancer, especially in people age 50 or older who don’t have other diabetes risk factors, like being overweight or having a family history of type 2 diabetes.)
- Chronic or hereditary pancreatitis — In chronic pancreatitis, long-term inflammation can damage the pancreas and lead to other health problems, including increased risk of cancer. It’s usually caused by alcohol use. Hereditary pancreatitis is a rare condition that causes repeated bouts of inflammation. It sometimes turns into chronic pancreatitis.
- Environment — Pancreatic cancer is more common in people with long exposure to pesticides, dyes, petrochemicals and other chemicals that may cause cancer (carcinogens).
- Gum disease — Risk appears to be higher in people with gum (periodontal) disease and tooth loss.
- Cysts in the pancreas — Cysts are fluid-filled sacs. Usually, they are benign (not cancer). But in the pancreas certain types of cysts are linked with higher risk of cancer.
- Family history — People with a parent or sibling who has had pancreatic cancer are three times more likely to also be diagnosed. A family history of colon cancer or ovarian cancer also increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Understanding the Hereditary Risk of Pancreatic Cancer
Certain gene changes (mutations) passed down from parents to children can cause conditions that increase the risk for pancreatic cancer. They include mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. These genes may be best known for increasing the risk for breast cancer. But BRCA1/2 mutations also raise the risk for cancer in the pancreas (and other parts of the body).
If you or a family member has one of these conditions, you may have a gene that puts you at higher risk for pancreatic cancer:
- Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome
- Hereditary breast cancer
- Ataxia-telangiectasia
- Familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome
- Hereditary pancreatitis
- Lynch syndrome (hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer)
- Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
Testing for genes that raise your cancer risk can help you decide how to best take care of yourself — and it may give you access to special cancer screening options.
“If people have this information, they can be monitored and screened for cancer differently; they can reduce their risk by better health care choices,” said Heather Cheng, MD, PhD, Clinical Director of Cancer Genetics at Fred Hutch Cancer Center. “Some people may not realize alcohol is a cancer risk. And for those at risk for pancreatic cancer, it’s especially important to monitor blood sugar levels and early signs of diabetes.”
Causes of Pancreatic Cancer and How It Can Be Prevented
The exact cause of all pancreatic cancers is not known, so there’s no clear way to prevent it for sure. One way to lower your risk is to avoid smoking. If you smoke, it’s important to quit. Help is available. Talk with your primary cancer provider. They can help you make a plan to quit and find supportive resources that are right for you. There are medicines that can help as well, like nicotine replacement products and drugs to ease cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Fred Hutch has a free smartphone app called QuitBot that includes step-by-step guidance and virtual coaching.
If you are at high risk for cancer of the digestive system, we have a special program to help. Our Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention Program offers a personalized approach to risk assessment, screening and prevention for people at high risk.
How Fred Hutch Is Researching Pancreatic Cancer Prevention
Fred Hutch researchers were part of a Phase 3 clinical trial of a RAS inhibitor treatment. In findings released in April 2026, the targeted therapy was shown to improve outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients compared with chemotherapy.
Fred Hutch physician and researcher Teresa Brentnall, MD, was the first to develop an approach to check for pancreatic cancer early, before it causes signs or symptoms, in people at high risk. Dr. Brentnall runs Fred Hutch’s pancreatic cancer surveillance program.
Her method relies on an imaging method called endoscopic ultrasound. It involves threading a flexible tube (endoscope) with an ultrasound probe through your mouth into your stomach to look at your pancreas for very small cancers and even pre-cancerous changes. Screening like this allows physicians to detect and treat pancreatic cancer earlier. In some cases, physicians recommend removing the pancreas from a high-risk patient before cancer has a chance to form.
“Just because you have a genetic susceptibility to a GI cancer doesn’t mean you have to get it. Our whole program is built around preventing cancer through surveillance.”
– Teresa Brentnall, MD, gastroenterologist
Other than quitting smoking, physicians and researchers don’t have recommendations for pancreatic cancer specifically. But the American Institute for Cancer Research recommends these lifestyle choices (along with smoking cessation) to help prevent cancer overall:
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Be physically active every day.
- Focus your food choices on whole grains, vegetables, fruit and beans. Try to get the nutrients you need through these foods, not supplements.
- Eat less “fast food” or other processed foods (especially if they are high in fat, starch or sugar) and less red or processed meat. Drink less alcohol and fewer drinks sweetened with sugar.
- Protect your skin from the sun.
“Many of the steps you can take to reduce your risk of cancer have the added benefit of helping to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and possibly even dementia,” said Garnet Anderson, PhD, senior vice president and director of Fred Hutch’s Public Health Sciences Division and holder of the Fred Hutch 40th Anniversary Endowed Chair. “There are plenty of reasons to make these changes.”