Epidemiological characteristics of patients with pancreatic cancer with and without diabetes mellitus: A retrospective cohort study.

Abstract

705 Background: Pancreatic cancer accounts for approximately 3% of new cancers diagnosed in the US and more than 8% of all cancer deaths. Despite the increasing incidence, there are few indicated screenings, mostly in patients with genetic mutations. Pancreatic cancer is associated with several risk factors including tobacco use, family history, heavy alcohol use, and diabetes mellitus (DM). In the US, more than 11% of adults have a diagnosis of diabetes and incidence is projected to rise over the coming years. Given the risk of DM associated with pancreatic cancer, establishing preventative measures, early intervention, and appropriate follow up for diabetic control could be an important step in decreasing the risk of pancreatic cancer. This study examines the demographic characteristics of patients with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer with and without DM. Methods: We used the 2016-2019 Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, the largest all-payer inpatient care database in the US, to stratify all patients admitted with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, with and without DM, to further characterize their epidemiological characteristics. Results: Characteristics of patients with and without DM and pancreatic cancer are shown in the table. There were 150,275 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, of which 44,170 (29%) had a concomitant diagnosis of DM. Of patients with both pancreatic cancer and DM, 53% were women (51% in patients without DM), 64% were white (70% in patients without diabetes), and 63% had Medicare for insurance (60% in patients without DM). Conclusions: Of patients with pancreatic cancer 29% had a concomitant diagnosis of DM(p=0.00). Epidemiological characteristics of patients with pancreatic cancers with and without DM such as age, sex, and insurance status were similar between both groups. However, there was a decreased percentage of Caucasian patients with pancreatic cancer and DM compared to those without DM. Given the association of diabetes with pancreatic cancer, and rising incidence of patients with diabetes in the US, emphasis on diabetes prevention and control may be an important factor in reducing the incidence pancreatic cancer. This study also suggests the need for further research to determine if there is utility in screening for pancreatic cancer in patients with diabetes to decrease the burden of pancreatic cancer in the US population.[Table: see text]