Diabetes may lead to a surge in pancreatic cancer rates

60-year-old Grandma Wang is a retired teacher. Apart from having diabetes for more than a decade, she is healthy, eats well, sleeps well, and is in high spirits. However, a few days ago, when her family accompanied her to the hospital for diabetes treatment and related examinations, the doctor told her to do an abdominal B-ultrasound. The doctor found a mass on her pancreas and diagnosed her with pancreatic cancer.

The relationship between diabetes and pancreatic cancer is very complicated, and the causal relationship between the two is still controversial. One view is that diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes itself is a risk factor for cancer. Its damage to the islets and pancreatic function may be a risk factor, so the risk of pancreatic cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes is also increased.

Many related studies have also proven that the risk of pancreatic cancer in patients with diabetes is eight times higher than that of the general population. According to the latest report in the American Gastroenterology Monthly, researchers at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in the United States conducted a follow-up survey of 2,122 patients with diabetes over the age of 50 and found that 18 of them were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the past three years. Compared with non-diabetic people of similar age and gender groups, the incidence of pancreatic cancer in patients with diabetes is eight times that of the latter.

Finland conducted a survey on 29,000 male smokers aged 50 to 69. After five years of follow-up, the researchers found 169 cases of pancreatic cancer. By collecting blood samples from these subjects and testing their glucose and insulin levels, they found that early diabetes promoted the occurrence of cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is known as the "king of cancer" because it lacks obvious symptoms in the early stages and is relatively hidden. It is difficult to detect with ordinary examinations and is easily missed. In the middle and late stages, the treatment effect is not ideal and the prognosis is relatively poor. However, its relationship with diabetes may help clinicians detect pancreatic cancer early. Therefore, while controlling blood sugar and preventing complications, it is necessary for diabetic patients to undergo some basic tumor examinations, such as liver and gallbladder B-ultrasound, to promptly detect tumors hidden behind diabetes and take effective measures to treat them in a timely manner.