A new U.S. research suggested that people who eat lots of fat, especially from meat and dairy products, are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, media reported on Monday.

The research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, included more than 500,000 people who had completed in 1995 or 1996 diet questionnaires for whom information about pancreatic cancer was available about six years later.

The research results showed that people consuming large amounts of saturated fat were 36 percent more likely to suffer from the disease. And the link between fat intake and cancer was strongest for saturated fat from animal food sources, which was associated with a 43 percent increase in cancer risk.

Pancreatic cancer, which is usually fatal, is the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Various risk factors for developing the disease have been identified, including smoking, diabetes and obesity. Some studies have also linked dietary fat to increased risk, but researchers said that data had been inconclusive.

The deadly disease will strike more than 42,000 Americans and kill more than 35,000 this year, according to the American Cancer Society.

(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2009)