Estimated age-standard mortality of pancreatic cancer per 100.000 both sexes (GLOBICAN 2009. IARC)
Pancreatic cancer is a rare disease; however, it’s the eighth malignant
leading cause of death worldwide according to GLOBOCAN 2008. Pancreatic cancer
is noteworthy as it is hard to diagnose because of the unspecific symptoms
associated with it especially in the early stages of cancer including vague
abdominal or back pain, abdominal bloating, nausea or diarrhea, change in the
color of stool; fatigue, weight loss and
loss of appetite. So far there is no specific screening test to identify the
earlier presence of pancreatic cancer like the breast mammography or PSA blood
test for prostate cancer. Therefore, it is important to identify the risk
factors for pancreatic cancer to identify the high risk population. In a study
done in Japan by Egawa and colleagues this year some of the risk factors were
investigated on a group of patients. Blood type B patients had a higher risk
for pancreatic cancer, patients with diabetes were found as well to have a
higher risk of pancreatic cancer. In this group, longstanding type-2 diabetes
(the type occurring most commonly in adults) especially in older men was
associated with higher risk of pancreatic cancer. These are interesting
findings, for many disease have been associated with different blood types
(e.g. higher risk for stomach cancer in patients with blood type A), an
explanation for these findings might help us understand the genetics or
immunological and physiological features associated with different blood types
and their effects on different body organs. Regarding type-2 diabetes the issue
is more complicated as we do not yet know if the cancer is a result of diabetes
and the gradual degeneration of the pancreatic cells or if both diseases are
manifestations of the same process that takes place over a long period of time.
More research will surely shed more light on these questions and help us
understand and fight pancreatic cancer.
Sources:
- Egawa N, Lin Y, Tabata T, Kuruma S, Hara S, Kubota K, Kamisawa T. ABO blood type, long-standing diabetes, and the risk of pancreatic cancer. World J Gastroenterol 2013; 19(16): 2537-2542
- The GLOBOCAN project
- WebMd -Pancreatic Cancer Health Center
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