Insulin Resistance Linked to Pancreatic Cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exposure to higher insulin levels and insulin resistance appears to influence the association between type 2 diabetes and pancreatic cancer, new study findings suggest.

A relationship between diabetes and pancreatic cancer has long been recognized, the authors of the study note. The question, however, is whether diabetes is the cause or the result of pancreatic cancer.

To find answers, Dr. Rachael Z. Stolzenberg-Solomon and colleagues conducted a study that included data from the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study. The findings are reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Within 5 years of follow-up, 169 patients developed pancreatic cancer. These subjects were compared with a random sample of 400 subjects without a cancer diagnosis. All of the subjects were male smokers between ages 50 of 69 years old, who were then followed for up to 16.7 years.

After the effects of age, years of smoking, and body mass index were considered, the researchers found that higher levels of glucose (blood sugar), insulin, and insulin resistance correlated with increasing risk of pancreatic cancer, the authors report.

Subjects diagnosed with diabetes and those with the highest insulin levels had twice the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. The length and the design of the study indicates that increased insulin levels and insulin resistance were the consequence of pancreatic cancer, Dr. Stolzenberg-Solomon and her colleagues add.

"Lifestyle changes to decrease glucose and insulin concentrations through weight reduction, increasing physical activity, and diet, such as decreasing saturated fat intake, ...could possibly impact pancreatic cancer development," they suggest.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Association, December 14, 2005.