Approximately one thousand Finns are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year.
Researchers may have discovered the mechanism by which obesity and type 2 diabetes increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Based on their results, the cause is high insulin levels.
In a mouse study published by the journal Cell Metabolism, high insulin levels overstimulated pancreatic glandular cyst cells, which produce digestive fluid. This led to an inflammatory state that turned cells into precursors to cancer.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes have long been linked to pancreatic cancer, but the exact mechanism is not known. The next step is to figure out how insulin levels, and how they are calculated, affect pancreatic ductal cells in humans.
If the results are confirmed in further studies, the findings may offer a promising way to prevent pancreatic cancer associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Approximately one thousand Finns are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year. Its prognosis is very poor, with only less than 10 percent of patients surviving five years after diagnosis. Therefore, preventing pancreatic cancer is of primary importance.
