Family history of cancer, Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, and pancreatic cancer risk.

<bold>Background: </bold>Individuals with a family history of cancer may be at increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) individuals carry increased risk for pancreatic cancer and other cancer types.<bold>Methods: </bold>We examined the association between family history of cancer, AJ heritage, and incident pancreatic cancer in 49 410 male participants of the prospective Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models.<bold>Results: </bold>During 1.1 million person-years (1986-2016), 452 participants developed pancreatic cancer. Increased risk of pancreatic cancer was observed in individuals with a family history of pancreatic (HR, 2.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28-6.07) or breast cancer (HR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.01-1.94). There was a trend towards higher risk of pancreatic cancer in relation to a family history of colorectal cancer (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.95-1.55) or AJ heritage (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 0.94-1.77). The risk was highly elevated among AJ men with a family history of breast or colorectal cancer (HR, 2.61 [95% CI, 1.41-4.82] and 1.92 [95% CI, 1.05-3.49], respectively).<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Family history of pancreatic cancer was associated with increased risk of this malignancy. Family history of breast or colorectal cancer was associated with the increased risk among AJ men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]