The findings indicate that excess weight could increase risk of death from pancreatic cancer more than previously believed said lead author Eric J. Jacobs from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta. Pancreatic cancer rates have been steadily increasing since the early 2000s. We've been puzzled by that increase because smoking -- a major risk factor for pancreatic cancer -- is declining Jacobs said. According to the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database pancreatic cancer is an extremely deadly type of cancer with a five-year survival rate of just 8.5 per cent. For the study presented at the