Crowdfunding campaign for research into pesticides and cancer of the pancreas

The chosen project will be conducted by the research group on Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer, headed by Professor Miquel Porta, of the Department of Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the UAB, an expert in preventive medicine and public health.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth cause of death by cancer in Spain: 6,026 people die from it each year. Patients are often diagnosed when the cancer has reached an advanced stage. Survival over 5 years (<5%) is the lowest of the 10 most common cancers. Smoking, obesity and diabetes can cause pancreatic cancer but are not present in most patients.

The researchers will analyse levels of pesticides and other toxins in the blood of 1,533 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): 513 persons who developed the disease (cases) and 1,020 people with similar socio-demographic characteristics who did not develop this cancer (controls). The scientific hypothesis is that concentrations of certain toxins will be significantly higher in the cases than in the controls.

For more information on the project