Dairy intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer : the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study (JACC Study) and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

Dairy product intake was suggested to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal cancers. This study investigated the association between dairy product intake and the risk of pancreatic cancer (PAC) using a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. First, we included 59 774 people aged 40-79 years from the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study (JACC Study). The Cox regression was used to compute the hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI of incident PAC for individuals who reported the highest intakes of milk, cheese and yogurt compared with not consuming the corresponding dairy products. Then, we combined our results with those from other four prospective cohort studies that were eligible after searching several databases, in a meta-analysis, using the fixed-effects model before evaluating publication bias and heterogeneity across studies. In the JACC Study, the highest v. no intakes of milk, cheese and yogurt were not associated with the reduced risk of PAC after a median follow-up of 13 center dot 4 years: HR (95 % CI) = 0 center dot 93 (0 center dot 64, 1 center dot 33), 0 center dot 91 (0 center dot 51, 1 center dot 62) and 0 center dot 68 (0 center dot 38, 1 center dot 21), respectively. The results did not significantly change in the meta-analysis: 0 center dot 95 (0 center dot 82, 1 center dot 11) for milk, 1 center dot 16 (0 center dot 87, 1 center dot 55) for cheese and 0 center dot 91 (0 center dot 79, 1 center dot 05) for yogurt. The meta-analysis showed no signs of publication bias or heterogeneity across studies. To conclude, consumption of milk, cheese and yogurt was not associated with the risk of PAC either in the JACC Study or the meta-analysis.