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By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that may increase your risk of pancreatic cancer include:
- Smoking.
- Being overweight or obese.
- Personal or family history of chronic inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).
- Personal or family history of pancreatic cancer.
- Family history of genetic syndromes that can increase cancer risk, including a BRCA2 gene mutation, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, Lynch syndrome and familial atypical mole-malignant melanoma (FAMMM).
- Older age. Pancreatic cancer occurs most often in older adults. Most people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are in their 70s and 80s.
- Being black. Pancreatic cancer occurs more frequently in blacks than in whites.