Diabetes May Establish The Progression Of Pancreatic Cancer
Researchers of the Mayo Clinic looked at the CT scans of 23 pancreatic cancer patients taken before their diagnosis for unrelated reasons. Half of the patients had diabetes and saw the beginning of their diabetes over six months before they were diagnosed with cancer.
The goal with this study was to establish a timeline for the progression of pancreatic cancer, especially in relation to the development of new-onset diabetes, reports gastroenterologist Suresh Chari, M.D., chief author of the study.
Pancreatic cancer often shows no symptoms until its advanced stages, making early detection difficult and therefore the opportunity for surgery small. The clues provided in the study could help provide an earlier diagnosis and a better chance of being able to treat a patient with surgery.
The long-term goal of the research is to find other methods of detecting pancreatic cancer, but Dr. Chari says the immediate goal is to determine whether the pancreatic cancer is actually producing something that is causing a unique form of diabetes.
SOURCE: Digestive Disease Week Conference, Los Angeles, May 20-25, 2006
Filed under Diabetes
