Profile of patients with pancreatic cancer and diabetes mellitus at the University Hospital of Brazzaville

Abstract

Introduction: pancreatic cancer a poor prognosis disease for which there is no screening. Its association with diabetes is not uncommon and may influence the evolutionary profile. The aim of this study was to describe the profile of diabetic patients who could benefit from pancreatic cancer screening. Methods: we conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in the gastroenterology department of the University Hospital of Brazzaville, from January 2010 to December 2019. Epidemiological variables (age, sex, alcoholism, smoking), tumor variables (symptoms, site, size, density, extension) and time of occurrence of both entities were analyzed using Epi info software. Results: A total of 35 patients were hospitalized for pancreatic cancer, of whom 17 were men and 15 women, for a sex ratio of 1.21. The mean age of the patients was 60.3 ± 13 years. Fifteen patients (43.75%) were diabetic, all classified as type 2. Among them, the diagnosis of diabetes of 10 patients (66.7%) preceded pancreatic cancer diagnosis and delay between the two pathologies was on average 3.4 years ± 5.3 months. Diabetes was observed in 11 patients older than 60 years. The difference was significant (OR = 4.8; 95% CI [1.1 - 22.8]; p = 0.0226). The other epidemiological variables studied were not related to the two pathologies. Conclusion: we propose a screening for pancreatic cancer when diabetes is discovered to patients from 60 years old, whatever their sex, especially during the first 3 years after the discovery of diabetes.