Hepatitis B does not increase the risk of pancreatic cancer but age does, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit say their study of more than 74,000 patients contradicts a previous study suggesting a link between pancreatic cancer and previous hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B is an inflammation of the liver caused by a viral infection.

"We looked at the incidence of pancreatic cancer among hepatitis B-infected patients over a 13-year period and found that we could not confirm a higher risk for those with a previous exposure to hepatitis B, as a prior study suggested," study lead author Dr. Jeffrey Tang says in a statement.

Tang says when other factors are considered -- such as age, race, sex, HIV status and the presence of diabetes -- only older age and presence of diabetes prove significant. However, prior exposure to hepatitis B is no longer an important variable.

The findings were presented in Boston at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases annual meeting.