Soft drinks' pancreatic cancer link

The risk of pancreatic cancer is almost doubled with the consumption of as little as two sugary soft drinks a week, a new study has claimed.

Scientists believe the high sugar content in soft drinks raises insulin in the body and heightens the risk of one of the world's rarest and deadliest forms of cancer - which affects around 7,600 people in the UK every year.

Researchers conducted the study on more than 60,500 participants in Singapore, wherein 140 of the volunteers were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer over the period of 14 years.

It was found that people who consumed two or more soft drinks per week - around five participants - raised their chance of developing the cancer by 87%.

The research has been published in the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevent.

Jessica Harris, from the charity Cancer Research UK, said that since the study included a lot of people, the risk of pancreatic cancer could either be the soft drinks or just chance.

"Also, people who drank lots of fizzy drinks were more likely to be unhealthy in other ways, so it is difficult to separate the effects of all of these things," she said.

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