Clinical epidemiological analysis of the relationship between pancreatic cancer and diabetes mellitus: data from a single institution in China.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between pancreatic cancer (PC) and diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
All PC patients diagnosed and treated at Zhongshan hospital from January 1991 to December 2007 were retrospectively analyzed. During this period, 770 non-digestive tract, non-neoplastic and non-hormone-related patients matched for sex and age were collected as controls. The incidence of diabetes mellitus between the two groups was compared.


RESULTS
Between the PC group and the control group, sex and age of the patients were well matched. The incidence of diabetes mellitus was 34.63% in the PC group and 8.83% in the control group (P < 0.001, RR = 5.19). In the PC group there was no correlation between age, sex, site of the cancer, tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, TNM staging and the incidence of diabetes mellitus. In this group with diabetes, 74.56% experienced onset within two years of cancer diagnosis. Of the control patients, 57.35% had had diabetes for under 2 years (P = 0.009, RR = 2.18). In the PC group with diabetes, 5.9% had had diabetes for more than 10 years while compared with 8.8% of the controls (P = 0.42).


CONCLUSIONS
Whether diabetes mellitus is a result of or a risk factor for PC is still unclear. The incidence of diabetes mellitus is much higher in the PC patients. The onset of diabetes mellitus in adults might be an alerting factor that could lead to an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Kuang
Tian Tao
TT
Department of General Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Jin
Da Yong
DY
Wang
Dan Song
DS
Xu
Xue Feng
XF
Ni
Xiao Ling
XL
Wu
Wen Chuan
WC
Lou
Wen Hui
WH
D000368:Aged; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk