Author Interviews, Diabetes, Genetic Research, Pancreatic / 15.05.2020
Higher Risk of Pancreatic Cancer With Diabetes Subtype
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Núria Malats, MD PhD,
Head of the Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group
Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The high mortality of pancreatic cancer is a consequence of late diagnosis because of the absence of symptoms in the earliest stages, and defining risk populations is therefore crucial to be able to carry out diagnostic tests that reveal the presence of the tumour as early as possible.
Diabetes and pancreatic cancer are connected because the pancreas secretes insulin; in diabetic people, this does not occur in a normal way. It is estimated that around 50% of patients with pancreatic cancer presents diabetes. But it is an outstanding challenge for researchers to figure out which is the cause and which is the consequence.
To conduct the study, the team used data from more than 3,500 persons from PanGenEU, a large European study involving centres from six countries, including Spain, and led by Malats, to analyse the relationship between multiple risk factors and pancreatic cancer. (more…)