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Medical Author:

Timothy Kuo, MD

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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The main recognized risk factors for pancreatic cancer include the following:

• Smoking (most common environmental risk factor)
• Obesity
• Advanced age
• Male sex -- The male-to-female ratio of pancreatic cancer is 1.3:1.
• Chronic pancreatitis -- Inflammation of the pancreas, usually from excessive alcohol intake or gallstones
• Diabetes mellitus
• Family history of pancreatic cancer and many other genetic factors such as mutation in KRAS2 gene and a history of familial adenomatous polyposis
• Consumption of red meat
• Black males in the U.S. have the highest rates of pancreatic cancer

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