Inflammatory plasma markers and pancreatic cancer risk: a prospective study of five U.S. cohorts

Chronic inflammation may play a role in the development of pancreatic cancer. However, few prospective studies have examined the association between plasma inflammatory markers and pancreatic cancer risk. Therefore, we investigated the association of prediagnostic circulating C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and TNF-α receptor II (TNF-αR2) with subsequent pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective, nested case-control study of 470 cases and 1,094 controls from Health Professionals Follow-up Study, Nurses' Health Study, Physicians' Health Study, Women's Health Initiative, and Women's Health Study. The median follow-up time of cases was 7.2 years (range 1-26 years). No association was observed between plasma CRP, IL-6, and TNF-αR2 and the risk of pancreatic cancer. Comparing extreme quintiles, the multivariate ORs were 1.10 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.74-1.63; Ptrend = 0.81] for CRP, 1.19 (95% CI, 0.81-1.76; Ptrend = 0.08) for IL-6, and 0.88 (95% CI, 0.58-1.33; Ptrend = 0.57) for TNF-αR2. In conclusion, prediagnostic levels of circulating CRP, IL-6, and TNF-αR2 were not associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer, suggesting that systemic inflammation as measured by circulating inflammatory factors is unlikely to play a major role in the development of pancreatic cancer.