The incidence of pancreatic cancer is getting higher and higher, is it caused by long-term vegetarian diet? These 4 habits are best to change
Auntie Zhang is 71 years old. Since she retired, she has been sticking to a "vegetarian" diet.
Before March, Aunt Zhang always felt stomach pain , so she bought medicine for "stomach disease" at the pharmacy. After taking it, she seemed to feel much better.
However, Aunt Zhang's stomach discomfort often occurs, and her body is getting thinner and thinner, so she went to the hospital for examination. It was found that the tumor index CA199 was high, and finally a tumor was found in the body and tail of the pancreas, and liver metastasis occurred.
Auntie Zhang, who knew the situation, was like a bolt from the blue. The daughters all thought that Auntie Zhang had a long-term unhealthy diet and was a vegetarian .
Pancreatic cancer, as the "king of cancer", has been increasing in incidence in recent years. According to relevant data, the incidence and mortality of pancreatic cancer in China will continue to rise from 2020 to 2029, with the predicted incidence increasing by 15.92% and the predicted mortality increasing by 15.86%.
Back then, Apple's founder, Steve Jobs, was also a vegetarian. He eventually survived with tumors for 8 years. Not only does it make people think, is there any connection between pancreatic cancer and vegetarianism?
1. Does vegetarianism prevent cancer or cause cancer?
Although a vegetarian diet may be healthier than a traditional, animal-based diet, there is currently no evidence that a vegan diet is better than a balanced diet (plant-based, animal-based) Anti-cancer effect .
A joint survey study across 11 countries found that compared with the elderly who eat more vegetarian food, the main sources of food are eggs and meat, and the elderly with higher protein intake live longer and have a lower risk of cancer.
Moreover, the results of nutritional status surveys on long-term vegetarian populations are not satisfactory. They may be more prone to nutritional anemia, multivitamins and inorganic element deficiencies, protein and energy malnutrition , etc., and their average life expectancy and physical fitness are not dominant. .
Can vegetarianism cause cancer? Dr. Liu Chuan of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University mentioned that people who have been vegetarian for a long time have insufficient protein intake. Animal experiments have shown that high-protein food can reduce the synthesis of nitrosamine carcinogens in the stomach, so the incidence of tumors may increase.
In addition, long-term vegetarian intake is also prone to insufficient intake of vitamins and riboflavin. Lack of these two substances is not conducive to cancer prevention.
Second, the accomplices of pancreatic cancer are actually these
At present, there is no evidence to show that vegetarianism is closely related to the occurrence of pancreatic cancer. The etiology and pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer are not yet fully understood, but these habits are risk factors.
1. Smoking
Smoking is one of the most important risk factors for pancreatic cancer and significantly increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, even exposure to smoke stimuli increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
2. Drinking
If you are stimulated by alcohol for a long time, it will cause direct damage to the pancreatic tissue. Alcohol abuse can induce pancreatitis, and repeated episodes of pancreatitis may become cancerous.
In addition, alcohol can act as a solvent for carcinogens and help carcinogens invade the pancreas, which not only damages the tissue, but also creates conditions for the occurrence of pancreatic cancer.
3. High-fat, high-energy diet
There is also a certain relationship between diet and pancreatic cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research have studied the relationship between diet and pancreatic cancer and believe that foods rich in red meat, high energy and high fat may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.
4. Ignore chronic diseases
Some benign diseases may also develop into pancreatic cancer, such as chronic pancreatitis , especially chronic mass pancreatitis. There is also a close relationship between diabetes and pancreatic cancer, so patients with chronic pancreatitis and diabetes should pay attention to control their conditions and do regular screenings.
3. These 5 manifestations may be the footsteps of pancreatic cancer
The pancreas has a special position in the human body and is an important organ hidden in the deepest part of the left upper abdomen. At present, the main method for the treatment of pancreatic cancer is comprehensive treatment based on surgery . The only hope for long-term survival of pancreatic cancer patients is surgical resection .
Pancreatic cancer is a very dangerous cancer, but it is difficult to detect , and it is easy to be misdiagnosed as stomach disease, chronic cholecystitis and other diseases . When pancreatic cancer comes, the body often has these symptoms:
·stomach ache
One of the most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer is abdominal pain, and it's not the same as the pain that relieves after a bowel movement. Abdominal pain often comes in many forms. For example, when the tumor compresses the pancreatic duct and causes high pressure, the patient will have dull pain symptoms; when the tumor is located at the outlet of the pancreatic duct, the patient will have paroxysmal epigastric pain after meals; When the tumor compresses or infiltrates the celiac nerve fiber plexus, the patient presents with severe nocturnal persistent low back pain.
·jaundice
The most prominent symptom of pancreatic head cancer is painless jaundice, which accounts for about 30%. Jaundice may appear in the early stage, but it is not an early symptom. The color of the jaundice is getting more and more yellow, and many patients also have symptoms of itchy skin due to obstructive jaundice.
· Intermittent hypothermia
Most pancreatic cancer patients will have varying degrees of fever during the illness, usually intermittent low-grade fever, and may also have high fever and chills if accompanied by biliary tract infection.
· Weight loss and fatigue
About 80% to 90% of pancreatic cancer patients will have symptoms of wasting and fatigue in the early stage, accompanied by weight loss, which is mainly related to anorexia, anxiety and tumor consumption.
· Gastrointestinal symptoms
Because the tumor blocks the pancreatic duct and the lower end of the common bile duct, pancreatic juice and bile cannot enter the duodenum, so symptoms of indigestion are prone to occur. If the exocrine function of the pancreas is damaged, it can also lead to diarrhea. In addition, when the advanced tumor invades the duodenum, it is easy to cause gastrointestinal obstruction or bleeding.
If you want to diagnose pancreatic cancer early, you can use these 2 methods:
1. Focus on detecting genetically susceptible populations
Genetic testing is best for at-risk relatives of pancreatic cancer patients and for patients with pancreatic cancer-related genetic syndromes.
2. Detection of biomarkers
Biomarkers can help diagnose early-stage pancreatic cancer, and there is a pancreatic cancer-specific antibody microarray test that may identify high-risk features of pancreatic cancer by measuring eight serum biomarkers, as well as CA19-9.
Faced with the increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer, we must take active measures to prevent it, such as paying attention to diet, avoiding smoking and drinking, and exercising appropriately.
References:
[1] Chen Dongyu, Yang Xiaoyu, Fan Wenlong, et al. Pancreatic cancer disease burden and attributable risk factors and related predictive analysis in major Asian countries from 1990 to 2019 [J]. Chinese Journal of Oncology, 2022, 44(9):955-961.
[2] "Eat meat or vegetarian, which is more likely to develop cancer? 4 truths that subvert cognition! 》. Medical Tumor Channel. 2022-02-19
[3] Zhao Sihan, Zheng Jian. Research progress on the etiology and pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer [J]. China Journal of Cancer Prevention and Treatment. 2022, 14(3)
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