If you were first diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 50 or older, the risk of developing pancreatic cancer is 7.5 times higher than that of people of the same age without diabetes, so you need to be extra careful.
The joint research team led by Professor Hee-Seung Lee and Seong-Min Bang of the Department of Gastroenterology at Severance Hospital and Professor Seong-In Jang of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Yonsei University's College of Medicine found that 88,396 adults diagnosed with diabetes in a national health check-up conducted by the National Health Insurance Service between 2002 and 2013 had the same number of non-diabetic patients. As a result of a comparative analysis of the risk of pancreatic cancer in a diabetic control group, this association was observed today (3rd).
The results of this study were published in the latest online edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, an international academic journal published by the American Endocrine Society.
Pancreatic cancer is a cancer with a 5-year survival rate of only 9% in Korea, and ranks fifth among all cancers.
This is because most patients are diagnosed with cancer at a fairly advanced stage, as there are few symptoms even after onset, and only 10 to 15% of cases can be treated with surgery even after detection.
Therefore, for now, it is best to focus on prevention by managing the risk factors that cause pancreatic cancer.
Diabetes was identified as a clear risk factor for pancreatic cancer in this study.
The researchers estimated that the overall risk of developing pancreatic cancer in people with diabetes was on average 2.8 times higher than in people without diabetes.
Of note is the higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer 3 years after diabetes diagnosis.
The research team calculated that the risk of developing pancreatic cancer 3 years after first diagnosis of diabetes was 3.8 times higher than that of people without diabetes.
Compared to those diagnosed with diabetes more than 3 years, the risk of developing pancreatic cancer was 1.5 times greater.
In particular, people over 50 years old and newly diagnosed with diabetes should be most wary of pancreatic cancer.
In this case, the risk of developing pancreatic cancer increased 7.5 times compared to the same age group without diabetes.
The research team urged that if diabetes occurred at the age of 50 or older, special attention should be paid to the occurrence of pancreatic cancer for at least 3 years thereafter.
Professor Hee-seung Lee said, “Considering that there is no proper method for early detection of pancreatic cancer, monitoring for high-risk factors is necessary for early diagnosis. If they occur together, it is desirable to visit a hospital and get tested for pancreatic cancer.”
(Photo = Getty Image Bank, Yonhap News)