Background & Aims:

Few modifiable risk factors have been implicated in the etiology of pancreatic cancer. There is little evidence for the effects of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, or tea intake on risk of pancreatic cancer. We investigated the association of total coffee, caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea consumption with risk of pancreatic cancer.

Methods:

This study was conducted within the European Prospective Investigation into Nutrition
and Cancer (EPIC) cohort, comprising male and female participants from 10 European countries. Between 1992 and 2000, 477,312 participants without cancer completed a dietary questionnaire, and were followed to determine pancreatic cancer incidence. Coffee and tea intakes were calibrated with a 24-hour dietary recall. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were computed using multivariable Cox regression.‍

Results:

During a mean follow-up of 11.6 y, 865 first incidences of pancreatic cancers were reported. When divided into fourths, neither total intake of coffee (HR,1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83–1.27; high vs low intake), decaffeinated coffee (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.76–1.63; high vs low), nor tea were associated with risk of pancreatic cancer (HR, 1.22, 95% CI, 0.95–1.56; high vs low). Moderately low intake of caffeinated coffee was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer (HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.02–1.74), compared to low intake. However, no graded dose response was observed, and the association attenuated following restriction to histologically confirmed pancreatic cancers.‍

Conclusion:

Based on analysis of data from the EPIC cohort, total coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea consumption are not related to the risk of pancreatic cancer.