"Pancreatic cancer has a dismal prognosis because it is usually far advanced by the time people learn of their condition," said Suresh T. Chari, MD, lead study author. "Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is nearly impossible due to the lack of a known population at risk for the disease and an accurate screening test. We hope that our research leads to additional studies confirming that older people with newly diagnosed diabetes should be checked for pancreatic cancer."
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cancer killer in the United States and it is estimated that nearly 32,000 people will die in 2005 from the disease. Most often, the disease does not present symptoms and is usually detected in advanced stages. Only 23 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer survive more than a year after diagnosis and 4 percent survive for five years. Older Americans are at great risk for developing pancreatic cancer--almost all patients are over the age of 50. In addition, pancreatic cancer is more common in people with diabetes, with the greatest risk existing in the first five years after diagnosis. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 18 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 60 has diabetes.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine conducted a population-based study to evaluate the usefulness of using new-onset diabetes as an underlying marker for pancreatic cancer. The study population included 2,122 patients from Rochester, MN, aged 50 and older who were diagnosed with diabetes between 1950 and 1995. Of these, 18 were found to have pancreatic cancer within three years. Researchers compared these results with rates expected for people of similar age and sex without diabetes.
While study findings show that older patients have less than a 1 percent chance of having pancreatic cancer as the cause of their diabetes, they are still considered a high-risk group for developing the cancer. Between 55 and 65 percent of people with pancreatic cancer have hyperglycemia and diabetes. For these factors to be useful in establishing the need for screening in relatively asymptomatic patients, researchers say it is necessary to find the difference between pancreatic cancer-induced diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
"More research is needed to determine if using increased sugar levels as an indicator of pancreatic cancer is feasible," said Dr. Chari. "Future research has the potential to lead to a screening test for this 'silent killer' that quickly claims thousands of lives each year."
More information on pancreatic cancer is available at www.gastro.org.
About the AGA
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is dedicated to the mission of advancing the science and practice of gastroenterology. Founded in 1897, the AGA is the oldest medical-specialty society in the United States. The AGA's 14,500 members include physicians and scientists who research, diagnose and treat disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. On a monthly basis, the AGA publishes two highly respected journals, Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The AGA's annual meeting is Digestive Disease Week, which is held each May and is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.
About Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA, is the most prominent journal in the subspecialty and is in the top one percent of indexed medical journals internationally. The journal publishes clinical and basic studies of all aspects of the digestive system, including the liver and pancreas, as well as nutrition. The journal is abstracted and indexed in Biological Abstracts, CABS, Chemical Abstracts, Current Contents, Excerpta Medica, Index Medicus, Nutrition Abstracts and Science Citation Index. For more information, visit www.gastrojournal.org.
Journal
GASTROENTEROLOGY