Certain conditions or exposures can increase your risk of getting one of the types of gastrointestinal cancers. Keep in mind that having a risk factor does not necessarily mean you will get cancer, and not having any of them does not guarantee you won’t.
Risk factors include:
- Diet. Eating a high-fat diet is a risk factor for small intestine cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer. A diet high in salted, smoked foods increases risk of stomach cancer. A diet high in red meat, processed meats, and meats cooked at high temperatures increases risk of colorectal cancer. A diet that includes too few fruits and vegetables increases risk of colorectal cancer and stomach cancer.
- Age. Many types of gastrointestinal cancer increase in frequency as people age.
- Cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes increases risk of stomach cancer and pancreatic cancer.
- Excessive alcohol use. Excess alcohol increases the risk of liver cancer and colorectal cancer.
- Obesity. Being overweight is a risk factor for biliary cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
- Family history of gastrointestinal cancer. If your parent or sibling has been diagnosed with a gastrointestinal cancer, you are more likely to get one of these cancers.
- Conditions that irritate or compromise the gastrointestinal tract or organs. Gastrointestinal cancer is more common among people with several diseases or conditions that cause inflammation or other trouble in the gastrointestinal system. These conditions include:
- Choledochal cysts
- Celiac disease
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Crohn disease
- Chronic gastritis
- Chronic ulcerative colitis
- Fatty liver disease
- Gastric polyps
- Hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection
- Infection with aflatoxin B (through eating contaminated food)
- Infection with a Chinese liver fluke parasite
- Infection with the Helicobacter pylori bacterium
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Intestinal metaplasia
- Pancreatitis
- Pernicious anemia
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis
- Genetic syndromes. People with certain inherited genetic conditions are at greater risk for gastrointestinal cancers. These include:
- Familial adenomatous polyposis predisposes sufferers to colorectal cancer as well as other gastrointestinal cancers
- Mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes increases the risk of pancreatic cancer
- Hereditary hemochromatosis causes too much iron to accumulate in the liver and increases risk of liver cancer
- Hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer
- Family history of gastrointestinal cancers
- The presence of the DPC gene has been associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer
- Diabetes. Having diabetes increases your risk of pancreatic cancer and liver cancer.
- Sedentary lifestyle. Exercising too little increases the risk of pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer.
- Medical or chemical exposures. Certain exposures can increase risk of liver cancer, including:
- Taking a medicine called thorotrast, which until the 1950s was used as a contrast agent in x-rays
- Exposure to vinyl chloride, a chemical used in the plastics industry
- Ethnic or racial background. African Americans and Jews of Eastern European descent (Ashkenazi Jews) have a higher risk of colorectal cancer. Several genetic mutations that increase risk have been identified in Ashkenazi Jews.
Read more about gastrointestinal cancer:
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