Pancreatic cancer could be diagnosed up to three years earlier—new study (Blood sugar/HbA1c higher while weight lower)

Medical Xpress / The Conversation / PLOS ONE ^ | Nov. 1, 2022 | Dr. Agnieszka Lemanska et al

[ConservativeMind]

Pancreatic cancer is a silent disease. For many people, it has no symptoms until it is fairly advanced. Weight loss and increased blood glucose levels are known signs, but it has been unknown—until now—when these changes occur and to what extent. If we can better understand how and when these changes happen before pancreatic cancer diagnosis, we can use this knowledge to diagnose the disease earlier.

Researchers investigated known signs of pancreatic cancer—weight loss, high blood sugar and diabetes—and looked at when they develop in relation to cancer.

We found that dramatic weight loss in people with pancreatic cancer started as early as two years before they received a diagnosis.

At the time of diagnosis, the average BMI of people with pancreatic cancer was nearly three units lower than people who did not have cancer. Raised glucose levels were detected even earlier—from three years before the diagnosis.

The results suggest that unexplained weight loss, mainly in people with diabetes (but not exclusively) should be treated with suspicion. Also, increasing glucose levels, especially in people without weight gain, should be considered a potential red flag for pancreatic cancer.

These changes are important candidates for health checks that could help doctors identify people who may have undiagnosed pancreatic cancer. These people could be then referred to a hospital specialist to check for cancer.

The benefit of receiving an early diagnosis is that it reduces the chance of the cancer spreading and helps ensure patients are fit enough to withstand treatment.

We are also looking to build this information into a more complex tool (an algorithm) that doctors could use. Using weight and glucose changes together, and potentially incorporating other key symptoms of pancreatic cancer (dark urine, light stool, yellow skin), is more powerful than looking at each of these measures separately.

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The body accumulates iron in the liver, pancreas, and heart.

Removing blood reduces excess iron and improves ability to process sugar.

Blood Letting in High-Ferritin Type 2 Diabetes : Effects on Insulin Sensitivity and β-Cell Function

https://diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/article/51/4/1000/34602/Blood-Letting-in-High-Ferritin-Type-2-Diabetes

If a person’s blood ferritin is less than 70 ng/ml, the person has an iron deficiency.