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Researchers diabetes a warning sign of pancreatic cancer
Many people in Germany suffer from diabetes. Researchers now found that diabetes can also be a warning sign of cancer. About 50 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes the previous year.
Researchers from the International Prevention Research Institute in France found in an investigation that a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes may be a warning sign of the development of cancer. The physicians published the results of their study at the European Cancer Congress 2017.
Diabetes is a disease that affects many people in Germany and around the world. Physicians now warn that there seems to be a link between pancreatic cancer and type 2 diabetes. (Image: Robert Kneschke / fotolia.com) A sudden worsening of diabetes increases the cancer risk massively
A recent study of nearly one million patients in Italy and Belgium found a link between type 2 diabetes and the development of cancer. Fifty percent of patients with pancreatic cancer had a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes the previous year, the authors explain. If patients already had type 2 diabetes, worsening the disease was associated with a seven-fold increased risk of diagnosing cancer.
Type 2 diabetes diagnoses have increased 30 percent in the last five years
The human pancreas produces insulin. Type 2 diabetes is caused when the body is unable to use the hormone properly and so-called insulin resistance develops, say the experts. Diabetes is a very common disease. In the UK alone, there are 3.5 million cases of diabetes. In Germany, type 2 diabetes is becoming more common, and the type 2 diabetes diagnoses have increased by 30 percent in the last five years. Pancreatic cancer, on the other hand, is relatively rare. In the United Kingdom, for example, there are about 10,000 diagnoses annually.
Rapidly worsening diabetes should definitely be investigated
Doctors and diabetics should know that the onset of diabetes or a rapidly worsening diabetes disease may be the first sign of hidden pancreatic cancer, explains author Alice Koechlin of the International Prevention Research Institute. Such situations should definitely be examined more closely. Type 2 diabetes also seems to affect other types of cancer. Other studies on type 2 diabetes have already shown that obesity and type 2 diabetes increase the risk of liver cancer.
Further research is needed
Further research is now urgently needed to develop earlier detection methods for pancreatic cancer. For example, people with an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer, such as those with diabetes, may be screened. Much work is still needed to identify pancreatic cancer diseases before the obvious symptoms appear, Koechlin adds.
A non-invasive diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is urgently needed
There is currently no good, non-invasive method for detecting pancreatic cancer that responds to signs or symptoms that are not yet visible, the researchers explain. The current results hopefully help in the search for blood markers, which indicate the presence of pancreatic cancer. Subsequently, sufferers could decide to perform an endoscopy to confirm the cancer, the doctors add.
Doctors and patients should be aware of the risk
The association between pancreatic cancer and type 2 diabetes has been an interesting area for researchers for several years. It is great to see that the current studies yield new and potentially very valuable information that can alert physicians and patients to the need for further investigation, the authors explain. (As)