How is diabetes and pancreatic cancer interrelated?
Long-standing diabetes can be considered a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. It causes a modest increase in risk of 1.5- to two-fold. Some of the other risk factors for pancreatic cancer include smoking, chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), family history of pancreatic cancer, obesity and certain genetic syndromes.
Here’s what the expert says:
Dr. Manoj Chawala, Ex committee member, RSSDI says, “The risk of acquiring pancreatic cancer in people with diabetes for more than five years can be regarded as somewhat above average. People with type 2 diabetes (the most common form) are twice as likely to develop liver or pancreatic cancer. However, there is a 1% probability of developing pancreatic cancer within three years after receiving a diabetes diagnosis for people who have diabetes for the first time after the age of 50. The diabetes in this instance was brought on by a pancreatic tumour.”
Insulin resistance may increase risk:
Dr. Banshi Saboo, Ex president RSSDI, says, “The primary hormone generated by the pancreas that aids in controlling blood sugar levels, insulin, is thought to make cells in the body more resistant to damage from pancreatic cancer. The insulin-producing cells in the pancreas produce more insulin to combat insulin resistance in other insulin-resistant disorders (such as obesity).”
Tumours can cause further problems:
Pancreatic cancer prevents the pancreas' insulin-producing cells from reacting to this insulin resistance as it should. Diabetes is brought on as a result of this. Notably, diabetes is neither a symptom nor a risk factor for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PNETs), despite the fact that these tumours develop from the pancreas' hormone-producing cells.
Don’t take the new diabetes diagnosis lightly:
“The disease of diabetes is still much more prevalent than the condition of pancreatic cancer, despite the fact that a new diabetes diagnosis may be an early sign of pancreatic cancer and offer a chance for early intervention. To determine whether diabetics may be more likely to have a pancreatic tumour that has not been detected, further clinical criteria are required,” advises Dr. Chawala.
The takeaway:
Diabetes arising secondary to pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer or pancreatic surgery is also referred to as Type 3C Diabetes. Both diabetes and pancreatic cancer can exhibit hazy symptoms that are easily discounted by medical professionals and patients, yet both conditions are often considerably more controllable if identified and treated early. In order to ensure that every patient receives an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible, it is critical for researchers and physicians to create strategies.