Nutrients, food groups, dietary patterns, and risk of pancreatic cancer in postmenopausal women

Introduction: Identifying modifiable risk factors for pancreatic cancer is important because of its poor prognosis. Previous findings on diet are inconsistent. Methods: Associations between intake of nutrients, food groups, dietary patterns, and pancreatic cancer risk were examined among 34,642 postmenopausal women in the Iowa Women's Health Study (IWHS). Results: No significant associations were observed between intake of nutrients and food groups or dietary patterns and pancreatic cancer. Conclusion: Our findings do not support the hypothesis that fruits, vegetables, and red meat are associated with risk of pancreatic cancer. Impact: Dietary intake, assessed in multiple aspects in a large prospective cohort study, was not associated with pancreatic cancer.