Worried about pancreatic cancer in your family?
Answer three quick questions to check your risk and find out if you and your family may benefit from regular monitoring.
What's in the 'Family history' section?
Key facts
Sometimes cancers can ‘run in the family’. This isn’t common – it’s around one in ten (10%) of pancreatic cancers. In most cases pancreatic cancer does not run in families.
- If pancreatic cancer does run in a family, there may be more than one relative with pancreatic cancer on the same side of the family.
- Pancreatic cancer that runs in families may be caused by a change in a gene that is linked to pancreatic cancer. This gene change is known as a variant. These variants are rare.
- Genes carry information that controls how our bodies work. We inherit genes from our parents.
- Hereditary pancreatitis is a rare type of pancreatitis that runs in families. Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. People with hereditary pancreatitis may be more likely to get pancreatic cancer.
If pancreatic cancer runs in your family, you and your family may be able to take part in a study looking at family history of pancreatic cancer. This is called the EUROPAC study. As part of this, you and your family may be able to have regular monitoring. This aims to spot any changes to the pancreas at an early stage.
Check your family risk
What are genes?
Genes carry the information that controls our appearance and how our bodies work. Genes come in pairs. We inherit one copy of each gene from our mother and the other from our father. We all have tiny differences in our genes that make us individual. For example, genes determine the colour of our eyes and hair.
Gene variants
Occasionally, there may be changes in genes which mean that someone is more likely to get a disease. This type of change in a gene is sometimes called a variant, fault or mutation. Having a gene variant doesn’t always mean someone will develop cancer.
Some gene variants can be passed down from a parent to a child. These are sometimes called ‘inherited’ or ‘constitutional’ gene variants.
Changes to genes can also happen during our lifetime, and these changes are not inherited or passed on. These types of changes are sometimes called ‘acquired’ or ‘somatic’ gene variants. They may be caused by a random mistake when a cell divides. Or they may be caused by other things, such as smoking. These are much more common causes of cancer than inherited gene variants.
A small number of genetic conditions are linked to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
We can answer your questions
Call, email or WhatsApp one of our friendly specialist nurses, like Lynne. They’re experts in pancreatic cancer and support thousands of people, like you, each year.
References and Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following people who reviewed our information on family history.
- Dr Matilda Bradford, Principal Genetic Counsellor, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Dr Nicola Campbell, Medical Oncology Consultant, University Hospital Southampton
- Nikie Jervis (RGN) Director of Support Services, Neuroendocrine Cancer UK
- Prof Sanjay Pandanaboyana, Consultant Hepatobiliary Pancreatic and Transplant Surgeon
- Pancreatic Cancer UK Information Volunteers
- Pancreatic Cancer UK Specialist Nurses
References
We have listed some of the references to the sources used to write this information. If you would like the full list of references, email us at publications@pancreaticcancer.org.uk
- Carrera S, Sancho A, Azkona E, Azkuna J, Lopez-Vivanco G. Hereditary pancreatic cancer: related syndromes and clinical perspective. Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice 2017;15:9.
- Matsubayashi H, Takaori K, Morizane C, Maguchi H, Mizuma M, Takahashi H, et al. Familial pancreatic cancer: Concept, management and issues. World J Gastroenterol 2017; 23(6):935–948.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Pancreatic cancer in adults: diagnosis and management. NICE Guideline NG85. Methods, evidence and recommendations. 2018.
- Ohmoto A, Yachida S, Morizane C. Genomic Features and Clinical Management of Patients with Hereditary Pancreatic Cancer Syndromes and Familial Pancreatic Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(3).
- Peters M, Tseng J, Miksad R. Genetic Testing in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Implications for Prevention and Treatment. Clinical Therapeutics 2016;38(7).
- Tersmette AC, Petersen G M, Offerhaus G J, Falatko F C, Brune K A, Goggins M, et al. Increased risk of incident pancreatic cancer among first-degree relatives of patients with familial pancreatic cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2001;7(3):738-44.
Published August 2025
To be reviewed August 2028