High insulin production may contribute to pancreatic cancer

Medical XPress ^ | August 2, 2019 | Thandi Fletcher, University of British Columbia

[ConservativeMind]

UBC scientists have demonstrated for the first time a causal link between high insulin levels and pancreatic cancer.

In a study published today in Cell Metabolism, researchers lowered insulin levels in mice predisposed to developing pancreatic cancer and found that these lower levels protected the mice against developing the disease.

The findings hold promise for early detection and prevention of pancreatic cancer in humans.

"Pancreatic cancer can be tricky to detect and is too often diagnosed at a late stage, making it one of the deadliest cancers," said James Johnson, senior co-author of the study, a professor and member of the Diabetes Research Group in the Life Sciences Centre at UBC. "The five-year-survival rate is less than five percent, and incidences of the disease are increasing alongside obesity."

Hyperinsulinemia, a condition in which the body produces more insulin than it needs to control blood sugar levels, is increasingly common, found in more than one-third of obese adults, and can be modulated by diet and lifestyle factors.

"The link between hyperinsulinemia has actually been found across multiple cancers, including breast cancer, but pancreatic cancer has the strongest link," said Janel Kopp, senior co-author and associate professor in the department of cellular and physiological sciences. "Our experiment is the first to directly test that hypothesis, in any cancer, in any animal model."

[ConservativeMind]

As we progress toward pre-diabetic conditions, our pancreas puts out ever more insulin, desperately hoping to being blood sugar levels back down to normal. The fact that all this insulin does little means we are “insulin resistant.”

This action, continuing over years, appears to directly encourage the cancers we fear.

[CondorFlight]

It’s been suggested that some diabetes medicines have been linked to pancreatic cancer, as well. (massive tort lawsuit alert...)

[dfwgator]

Another reason I switch to the Ketogenic Lifestyle (it’s not just a diet)

[pgkdan]

Another reason I switch to the Ketogenic Lifestyle (it’s not just a diet)

I'll second that! Been keto for over three years and I'm in better shape at 60 than I was in my 40's.

[Bayard]

I suggest fasting certain days of the week. We were built to eat lots of food and store energy for use later. When we keep filling our tummies with food and don’t force the body to do without once and awhile we are not letting Normal machinery do things like use up fat, reduce insulin production, and focus the mind off of being instantly gratified all the time.

Just my take. Food is good, bacon, steak, bread and milk, ect. Just dont gorge yourself.

[nagant]

>UBC scientists have demonstrated for the first time a causal link between high insulin levels and pancreatic cancer. In a study published today in Cell Metabolism, researchers lowered insulin levels in mice predisposed to developing pancreatic cancer and found that these lower levels protected the mice against developing the disease. <

>These and the control mice were fed a diet for a year that was known to increase insulin levels and promote pancreatic cancer. At the end of the yearlong study, the mice with slightly reduced insulin levels were shown to be protected from the start of pancreatic cancer.<

The article states that the researchers lowered insulin levels in some of the test mice. Then it describes the experiment as simply comparing cancer rates of mice with higher insulin levels to mice with lower insulin levels. So no, the experiment did NOT establish “a causal link.”

High insulin levels are caused by cellular insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetics are 3.5 TIMES as likely to have cancer as the overall population. Insulin resistance and cancer are chemically linked to loss of cellular energy through the re-aggregation of cellular PKM2 tetramers into dimers. The process stops insulin from transporting glucose into cells. The loss in cellular energy initiates the RAS oncogene pathway and cancer.

One could just as easily conclude that the high blood glucose levels which accompany high insulin levels are linked to cancer. And that would be more accurate because cellular carbohydrates are the cause which re-aggregates cellular PKM2 tetramers into dimers.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5817853/

[Paradox]

I was a huge Keto person back in the day. I dont think its the ideal diet, but it is far, far better than how I am eating these days.. I’ll probably do a cycle then add a minimal amount of carbs back.

[pgkdan]

My bloodwork from my last Dr. appointment was the best I’ve ever had. A1C was 5.7. Before starting keto I averaged 11. That was while taking nearly 400 IU of insulin a day. If my blood sugar was below 250 I considered it a good day. Now I run in the 80’s. My cholesterol was normal, for the first time ever. I’m sticking with keto.