Genes related to diabetes may be associated with pancreatic cancer in a population-based case-control study in Minnesota.
OBJECTIVE
Type 2 diabetes is associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk; however, the nature of this relationship is not clear. We examined the link between 10 diabetes-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms and pancreatic cancer in a case-control study conducted in 1994 to 1998.


METHODS
Cases (n = 162) were ascertained from hospitals in the Twin Cities and Mayo Clinic, Minn. Controls (n = 540) from the general population were frequency matched by age, sex, and race. Unconditional logistic regression provided odds ratios of pancreatic cancer and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).


RESULTS
In a multivariate-adjusted model, a significant association was observed only for rs780094 in the glucokinase regulator (GCKR) gene: odds ratios for pancreatic cancer were 1.00 for TT, 1.35 (95% CI, 0.71-2.58) for CT, and 2.14 (95% CI, 1.12-4.08) for CC genotypes (P trend = 0.01) and did not change after the adjustment for diabetes.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides the first evidence that GCKR rs780094, a single-nucleotide polymorphism related to diabetes, may be associated with pancreatic cancer risk. Although the results from this analysis are preliminary, there is a biologic plausibility for such an association.
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. prizm001@umn.edu
Anna E
AE
Prizment
Myron
M
Gross
Laura
L
Rasmussen-Torvik
James M
JM
Peacock
Kristin E
KE
Anderson
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors
D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; C105556:glucokinase receptor