New-onset Diabetes as an Early Sign of Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

While long-standing diabetes is a risk factor of pancreatic cancer, new-onset diabetes could be a consequence of underlying pancreatic malignancy. About 30% to 50% of pancreatic cancer patients have new-onset diabetes. Because diabetes develops in preclinical or early stages of pancreatic cancer, it could serve as an excellent clue for early detection of pancreatic cancer. Insulin resistance associated with hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia by diabetogenic factors secreted from cancer cells have been suggested to be a possible mechanism of pancreatic cancer-induced diabetes. It is difficult to differentiate pancreatic cancer-induced diabetes from the more common type 2 diabetes. Although several clinical features and potential biomarkers have been investigated, optimal strategies and modalities to screen pancreatic cancer among the new-onset diabetes have not yet been fully determined.