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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Jul 3.
Published in final edited form as: Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Jul 3;17(6):555–574. doi: 10.1080/17474124.2023.2217354

Table 4:

Risk factors for pancreatic cancer

Risk Factor Prevalence and Associated Risk References
Non-genetic
Cigarette Smoking 1.7 fold increased risk vs to never smokers. [161]
Family history of pancreatic cancer 2.5 fold increased risk for individuals with a first degree relative with pancreatic cancer, risk increases with additional affected relatives and/or family members who developed cancer before age 50. [162]
Long Standing Diabetes 1.5 – 2-fold increased risk of PDAC for individuals with diabetes >3 years in duration. [163166]
New onset Diabetes <0.3% to 0.8% of new diabetes develop pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma primarily within one year of diabetes diagnosis. [143,167,168]
Obesity 1.6 fold increased risk in obese vs normal weight. [169]
Genes
ATM pathogenic variant Occurs in 1–3% of PDAC cases, 6.5 fold increased risk. [170172]
BRCA1 Occurs in 1% of PDAC, 2–4 fold increased risk. [173176]
BRCA2 pathogenic variant Occurs in 2–7% of PDAC cases, 3.5–10 fold increased risk.
[174180]
CDKN2A pathogenic variant Occurs <0.5% of PDAC cases, 34 -fold increased risk. [175,181]
CPA1/CPB1 variants <1%; lifetime risk not defined [182,183]
GWAS Variants & Polygenic Risk Scores European ancestry populations: 1q32.1 (NR5A2), 1p36.33 (NOC2L), 2p13.3 (ETAA1), 3q29 (TP63), 5p15.33 (CLPTM1L, TERT), 7p14.1 (INHBA), 8q21.11 (HNF4G) 8q24.21 (MYC), 9q34.2 (ABO), 13q12.2 (PDX1), 13q22.1 (KLF5), 16q23.1 (BCAR1), 17q12 (HNF1B) 17q25.1 (LINC00673), 18q21.32 (GRP), and 22q12.1 (ZNRF). China: 21q21.3, 5p13.1, 21q22.3, 22q13.32 and 10q26.11: Japan 6p25.3, 12p11.21 and 7q36.2. In Europeans ~4 fold higher risk for those with the top 10% of polygenic risk (combined weighted average of associated loci). [184189]
Mismatch Repair Gene Occurs in up to 1% of PDAC, 8 fold increased risk. [190]
PALB2 pathogenic variant Occurs <0.5% of PDAC cases, up to 10-fold risk. [191]
PRSS1 Very Rare; >40 fold. [192194]
STK11 Very Rare: 10–40 fold. [195197]