
Pancreatic Cancer Sign: Rapid Deterioration of Diabetes Control
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Pancreatic Cancer Sign: Rapid Deterioration of Diabetes Control
At diagnosis and shortly thereafter, if their control deteriorates rapidly it could be a sign of asymptomatic pancreatic cancer.
550,000 diabetes patients participated in a study where they found that patients who received glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, or incretin mimetics, were at significantly increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
However, the researchers observed that the increased risk diminished rapidly after diagnosis of diabetes. Given that they also found that the risk for pancreatic cancer was markedly increased after starting insulin therapy, they suggested that reverse causation may be in play, with asymptomatic pancreatic cancer initially causing diabetes before progressing to a symptomatic stage.
Medical professionals should be aware that their diabetes patients should be aware that the onset of diabetes or rapidly deteriorating diabetes control could be the first sign of hidden pancreatic cancer, and steps should be taken to investigate it. As of today there is currently no good, noninvasive method for detecting asymptomatic pancreatic cancer.
The researchers added that they hope the results will encourage the search for blood markers indicating the presence of pancreatic cancer. Most patients with pancreatic cancer are not diagnosed at a curable stage.
Dr. Auther added that, this study opens up the possibility of combining the diagnosis of an associated disease,
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