Consumption of Tea and Risk for Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Published Epidemiological Studies

Epidemiologic studies on the relationship between tea consumption and pancreatic cancer are inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted a systematic search of databases and performed a meta-analysis to analyze the association between tea consumption and risk of pancreatic cancer. We searched Medline, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and the Cochrane library for studies of tea consumption and pancreatic cancer published up to December 2012. Subgroup analysis was conducted by study type, study region, sex, type of tea, without or with adjustment for smoking, and body mass index. We performed a meta-analysis of 8 case-control studies and 6 cohort studies. For pancreatic cancer, the summary odds ratio (OR) for highest vs. lowest was 0.95 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.84-1.08). The summary OR for moderate vs. lowest was 1.07 (95% CI, 0.86-1.35). The summary OR for ever vs. lowest was 1.00 (95% CI, 0.86-1.16). The results of this meta-analysis suggested tea consumption is not related to pancreatic cancer risk, even at high doses. Because of the small number of studies, further prospective studies are needed.