Abstract A07: Risk of pancreatic cancer among individuals with hepatitis C or hepatitis B virus infection: A nationwide study in Sweden

Abstract

Abstract Background: A few studies indicated that hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus (HCV/HBV) might be associated with pancreatic cancer risk. The aim of this nationwide cohort study was to examine this possible association. Methods: HCV and HBV-infected individuals were identified from the national surveillance database from 1990 to 2006, and followed to the end of 2008. The pancreatic cancer risk in the study population was compared with the general population by calculation of Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIR), and with a matched reference population (1:5 matching) using Cox proportional hazards regression model to calculate Hazard Ratios (HR). Results: In total 340,819 person-years in the HCV-cohort and 102,295 in the HBV-cohort were accumulated, with 34 and 5 pancreatic cancers identified, respectively. The SIR was 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4, 2.9) for HCV infection and the SIR 1.4 (0.5, 3.3) for HBV infection. In the Cox model analysis, the HR for HCV infection was 1.9 (95% CI: 1.3, 2.7), diminishing to 1.6 (1.04, 2.4) after adjustment for potential confounders of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic pancreatitis and diagnoses related to alcohol abuse. Conclusion: This nationwide population-based cohort study demonstrated an increased risk of pancreatic cancer among HCV-infected individuals, although this excess risk was attenuated but still statistically significant after adjustment for other potential risk factors. Our results support the hypothesis that HCV infection might be associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, but further studies, with more complete information about other potential confounding factors, are needed to verify the association and to explore the causality. Citation Format: Jiaqi Huang, Måns Magnusson, Anna Törner, Weimin Ye, Ann-Sofi Duberg. Risk of pancreatic cancer among individuals with hepatitis C or hepatitis B virus infection: A nationwide study in Sweden. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2013 Oct 27-30; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2013;6(11 Suppl): Abstract nr A07.