Health impact of soft drinks is proved again. A recent study showed excessive soda drinking increased the risk of pancreatic cancer nearly doubled.

Research carried out the Cancer Control Program at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC, United States show for those who drank soda at least two times a week, 87 per cent more at risk of experiencing a fatal pancreatic cancer than those who rarely consume sodas.

“People who drink two times or more soft drinks per week had an increased risk of 87 percent or almost twice the risk of pancreatic cancer compared with individuals who do not consume soft drinks,” said the study’s lead author, Noel T Mueller MPH, a researcher at The Cancer Control Program at Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC, United States, as quoted by WebMD.

The study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a scientific journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Soft drinks companies respond immediately about these results. They stated that research directly disclose defects and other research that found that there was no link between soda consumption and pancreatic cancer.

In this study, Mueller and his colleagues conduct ongoing evaluation for 14 years on 60,524 men and women enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. The study began in 1993 when researchers noted what they eat and whether it will suffer from cancer.
The researchers asked the participants to tell him what he ate, including soft drinks and fruit juices. However, Mueller said, researchers did not ask specifically about their dietary consumption, but most of them drank regular soda.

In Singapore at that time, Mueller explained, looking very little intake of soda in the community. “We followed the participants for 14 years. And each time a different record the cancer, “he said. The result, researchers recorded 140 cases occurred pancreatic cancer and began to look back to see if anything to do with the consumption of soda or fruit juice.

The researchers divided consumption of soda and juice into three categories, they are, do not drink at all, less than two times per week and two times or more a week. In conclusion, those who drank soda two times or more in a week the average number of five-year-old has a 87 percent increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

However, it was found that there was no relationship between fruit juice consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer. So why soda can relate? He admitted it needs to be studied further. “However, what we believe is the sugar in soft drinks can increase insulin levels in the body, which we consider to contribute to the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. Increased insulin may lead to cancer development, “said Mueller.

Even so, the researchers believe the risk of pancreatic cancer increases if other factors, such as advanced age, smoking, diabetes, and body mass index is associated with obesity. Pancreatic cancer risk increases as your age.

With this result, the soft drinks industry immediately launched a protest. “This study has many weaknesses in it,” said Richard Adamson, PhD, scientific consultant of the American Beverage Association in Washington, DC, United States. For example, according to Adamson, his little case of pancreatic cancer experienced by participants. He showed the 140 cases, 110 of these people do not drink soda at all, while the other 12 people eat less than twice a week and another 18 two times or more servings a week.

“This means that only a small number of cases of pancreatic cancer compared with the population studied,” he said. Other studies also, he added, did not find the relationship between soda and pancreatic cancer. The American Beverage Association points to a study in 2008 which found no such relationship. The study also only focused on the consumption of soft drinks, but did not see the overall dietary pattern. “You can be a healthy person and enjoy soft drinks without feeling anxious,” Adamson added.

Susan Mayne, PhD, Director of Yale Cancer Center and professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health, say, the results of the study is “interesting” because of small cases that found that does not prove direct causality. In fact, he included members of the editorial board of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. This study itself was funded the National Cancer Institute.

Colonel Laurence N MD, PhD, a researcher at the Cancer Research Center and professor of public health at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, said although the new study has limitations, but these findings relate to previous research. He and his colleagues say there is a relationship between added sugars in foods and the risk of pancreatic cancer. The results of this study was published in 2007. “In our study, found a positive relationship between high intake of fructose and pancreatic cancer,” he said. “Since high fructose corn syrup is the main sweetener of non-diet soft drinks, our findings and the latest study is quite consistent,” he said.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the 11 types of cancer most common in the UK. In the United States, according to the American Cancer Society, in 2009 about 42,000 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 35,240 of them died. This cancer claimed claimed 7700 lives every year.

The life expectancy of people with only 19 per cent per year. Of 100 people, patients who lived only 19 people. Meanwhile, who has a life expectancy over 5 years is only 4 percent. Hollywood actor Patrick Swayze and tenor Luciano Pavarotti is famous patient who died of pancreatic cancer.

Before discussing pancreatic cancer, you need to know what organ is the pancreas. The pancreas is an organ shaped like a sponge tube / sponge with kirakira six inches long located behind the stomach. The pancreas produces enzymes and hormones, including insulin.

Pancreatic enzymes help digest food in the small intestine, whereas insulin to control blood sugar levels. Both enzymes and hormones necessary to maintain the body in order to work properly. The most frightening disorders that occur in this organ is a cancer of the pancreas.

Pancreatic cancer occurs when malignant cells (malignant) grow, develop, and spread in pancreatic tissue. Pancreatic cancer is known as the silent disease because in the early stages of this disease have almost no symptoms. However, if cancer cells have flourished and spread, the pain usually will occur in the upper abdomen and sometimes spreads to the back. Other symptoms include sudden weight loss, depression, and decreased appetite.

Although the exact causes of pancreatic cancer is unknown, but smoking is a major risk factor. Smokers have 2-3 times the risk of higher pancreatic cancer than nonsmokers. Age also affects the existence of this disease, pancreatic cancer usually tend to occur at the age above 45 years.
Other risk factors include diabetes, pancreatitis, and cirrhosis of the liver. There was also missed a family history of the disease also has a role. Pancreatic cancer can be very fierce indeed. Many sufferers die within a year after diagnosis. Only a few, less than 4 percent that will survive five years after diagnosis.

No wonder when the National Cancer Institute says pancreatic cancer is rarely curable. If the cancer is still in the pancreas (localized), the level of recovery would be greater. Even so, this is usually a good hope in all cases only slightly, less than 20 percent.

For patients with cancer who are still measuring less than 2 cm, with no spread to lymph nodes, surgical removal of cancer patients could save at least five years. This possibility could reach 18-24 percent.

Cancer treatment, depending on a number of factors, such as cancer type, size and spread of cancer is also the overall condition of the patient and his age. Therefore, each patient can not be treated the same. Although somewhat difficult to cure, doctors still will try as hard as possible to care for patients in order to increase the quality of life, such as by surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Usually treatment for pancreatic cancer is very unusual that the body affects the cancer cells die. Therefore, the doctor will give another drug as a combination. Treatment will give the effect of nausea, flushed skin, hair loss, loss of appetite, weakness, and decreased weight.

Intake of nutritious food is needed at the time of healing. Treatment that serves to replace the insulin the pancreas is also necessary because as the plant is disturbed insulin function. Then, how to prevent this deadly cancer? Of course the only way is to avoid factors that cause and factors of this disease.

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