title: Pancreatic cancer presenting as new-onset diabetes.
abstract: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma has an incidence rate nearly equal to the mortality rate and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the USA. This is largely due to late symptom onset and diagnosis. Evidence has emerged that new-onset diabetes may be a symptom caused by occult pancreatic cancer. We report the case of a middle-aged African American female who presented with hyperglycemia and persistent scapular tenderness. She was subsequently diagnosed with new-onset diabetes and metastatic pancreatic cancer confirmed by liver biopsy. She did not have diabetes or pre-diabetes in the 6 months prior to presentation. The following report will serve to emphasize the role of new-onset diabetes in certain patients as a warning sign necessitating further investigation for pancreatic cancer. New-onset diabetes associated with specific risk factors may prompt for early testing, detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich., USA.
authors.forename: Ruchir
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich., USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ede
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich., USA.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich., USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Willens
keywords: Diabetes; Diagnosis; Pancreatic cancer; Screening
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