A Keck School of Medicine study suggests a link between late-onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer.
Each year, more than one million Americans are diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes mellitus, also known as type 2 diabetes. The new diagnosis comes with a long list of potential complications: high blood pressure, nerve damage, kidney disease, stroke, glaucoma and more. But for African Americans and Latinos, a diagnosis of diabetes after age 50 may also come with a more than threefold risk for developing pancreatic cancer, according to a new study led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
“What we found is that, yes, diabetes is associated with pancreatic cancer in African Americans and Latinos, but we also discovered that there is a different type of diabetes here, a late-onset diabetes that’s associated with developing pancreatic cancer within 36 months. The evidence suggests that late-onset diabetes may be an early sign of pancreatic cancer,” Setiawan says.
If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, make an appointment with one of our endocrinologists or diabetes specialists. To schedule an appointment, call (800) USC-CARE (800-872-2273) or visit keckmedicine.org/request-an-appointment.