Is diabetes an early warning sign of pancreatic cancer?

Diabetes and pancreatic cancer are closely related. Currently, most scholars believe that diabetes is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer and may be an early warning sign and symptom of pancreatic cancer. Some scholars also believe that diabetes is the cause of pancreatic cancer.

In recent years, studies in my country and abroad have shown that 80% of pancreatic cancer patients are diagnosed with diabetes or high blood sugar. Some patients with resectable pancreatic cancer have their diabetes or high blood sugar disappear or improve after surgery to remove the pancreas. These phenomena suggest that pancreatic cancer can cause diabetes and high blood sugar. In addition, other studies have also suggested that patients with new-onset diabetes and/or those who have recently started insulin treatment have the highest risk of developing pancreatic cancer, suggesting that pancreatic cancer may induce the onset of new-onset diabetes or aggravate existing diabetes. A 2008 U.S. study showed that diabetes is very common in pancreatic cancer patients (47%), and it is mainly new-onset diabetes, so pancreatic cancer is considered to be the cause of diabetes, and diabetes can improve after surgical resection of pancreatic cancer.

It is generally acknowledged that excessive intake of sweets increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. There are also reports that consuming more than 50 grams of sugar per day can be a potential risk for pancreatic cancer.

A recent large-scale population survey showed that compared with the normal population, the risk of pancreatic cancer in patients with new-onset diabetes increased eightfold within three years of reaching the diabetes diagnostic criteria. Therefore, foreign scholars believe that new-onset diabetes can be used as a potential predictive factor for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In addition, recent studies in my country have also achieved similar results.

In 2009, some foreign researchers believed that for newly diagnosed diabetic patients of a certain age, an abnormal ratio of blood glucagon to insulin levels may indicate the occurrence of pancreatic cancer. The results of these studies will help reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer.

In addition, a recent study in South Korea found that the incidence of cancer increases in people with diabetes or fasting blood sugar levels ≥ 7.8 mmol/L. Moreover, blood sugar levels are most strongly correlated with pancreatic cancer. The mortality rate of pancreatic cancer in men with the highest blood sugar levels is 91% higher than that in men with the lowest blood sugar levels. This shows that the higher the fasting blood sugar, the higher the cancer mortality rate. Therefore, controlling blood sugar may be more significant in reducing the incidence of cancer. A recent foreign study showed that in some patients, pancreatic cancer can cause symptoms of diabetes. On the other hand, diabetes as a risk factor may be involved in the occurrence of pancreatic cancer.