Yingsong Lin

Pancreatic cancer has shown a marked increase in both incidence and mortality over the last 4 decades in Japan (Lin et al., 1998). It is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among males and the seventh among females, accounting for over 16,000 deaths annually (Lin et al., 1998). The etiology of pancreatic cancer remains largely unknown. To identify factors that increase the risk of pancreatic cancer is important, not only to understand the etiology of the disease, but also to improve its detection, treatment and prevention at last. In European countries and the United States, a considerable number of epidemiological studies have been conducted to identify environmental factors that contributed to pancreatic cancer development. According to these studies, cigarette smoking has been consistently reported as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Other possible risk factors include family history of pancreatic cancer, long-standing An Epidemiological Overview of Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors of Pancreatic Cancer