Alcohol has been identified inconsistently as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer [3–42]. Particularly important reasons for inconsistency that may have resulted in report of no association between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer may have included incomplete assessment and analysis of dose of alcohol consumption risk across wide ranges, as well as pattern of alcohol consumption. Thus, more large population-based studies are required to examine this association while adjusting for other putative risk factors, and considering the relationship of dose and pattern of alcohol exposure. We conducted the current analyses as part of a large, population-based case–control study in the San Francisco Bay Area to examine the relationship between pancreatic cancer and alcohol consumption, with particular attention to the associated exposure characteristics of timing of consumption onset, duration, and dose, including binge drinking.
