Dr. Christopher Sonnier Looks at Risk Factors for Pancreatic Cancer
By: Dr. Christopher Sonnier
Tags: Virginia, Medicine, Diabetes, Cancer, Doctors

Diabetes prevalence has been rising rapidly in middle to low-income countries, and among adults over 18 years of age — diabetes has risen from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014. In addition to the rising rates of diabetes comes a wide range of additional risks, including cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and pancreatic cancer.

A database analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism recently reported that the risk of pancreatic cancer rises with fasting glucose, regardless of having diabetes. Experienced endocrinologist Dr. Christopher Sonnier takes an in depth look at fasting glucose and its relationship to pancreatic cancer.

Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer

In a press release, Cheol-Young Park explained that diabetes is one of the established risk factors in pancreatic cancer. When they evaluated the pancreatic cancer incidence according to fasting glucose levels using a national cohort database, they found that the number of pancreatic cancer cases rose as fasting glucose levels increased — which was true in individuals who had diabetes and for those who did not.

Dr. Christopher Sonnier Breaks Down Fasting Glucose Level

Fasting blood sugar levels give vital clues about how a person’s body is managing their blood sugar. Blood sugar tends to peak about an hour after eating and declines after that. Dr. Christopher Sonnier explains that your body needs glucose for energy, and this glucose comes from the food that we eat: however, the body does not use all of this energy at once. There are several key factors that can contribute to abnormally high fasting glucose levels, such as eating large meals, consuming sugary foods and drinks, and eating foods with simple carbohydrates. As blood sugar levels rise, your pancreas will release insulin. Insulin lowers blood sugar, breaking it down so that the body can use it for energy or store it for later.

Dong-Hoe Koo, the leader of the study, analyzed data from 25.4 million patients who participated in health exams between 2009 and 2013, using data from the National Health Insurance Service. Throughout this process, researchers evaluated pancreatic cancer incidence rates according to fasting glucose level. The incidence rate was then calculated after grouping patients into one of six categories: low-normal (< 90 mg/dL), high-normal (90–99 mg/dL), prediabetes level 1 (100–109 mg/dL), prediabetes level 2 (110–125 mg/dL), type 2 diabetes ( 126 mg/dL) and type 2 diabetes on antidiabetic medications.

Over the duration of this research, researchers identified 11,429 new cases of pancreatic cancer. In correlation with this data, pancreatic cancer risk increased continuously with elevating fasting glucose levels. The 5-year cumulative incidence rates (per 100,000) were 32 for low-normal (95% CI, 31–33), 41 for high-normal (95% CI, 40–43), 50 for prediabetes level 1 (95% CI, 47–52), 64 for prediabetes level 2 (95% CI, 60–68), 75 for type 2 diabetes (95% CI, 69–82) and 121 for patients prescribed anti-diabetes medications (95% CI, 116–127).

In the analyses investigating the relationship with diabetes duration and pancreatic cancer, researchers observed a J-shaped association. There was no significant difference in the incidence of pancreatic cancer between the patients who received insulin and those who did not. The researchers wrote: “efforts made toward early detection of hyperglycemia and lifestyle modification to improve glucose profile may provide a practical strategy to reduce the increasing risk of pancreatic cancer.

What Are Some Ways You Can Drop Your Fasting Glucose levels?

The first is by lowering your sugar and carbohydrate intake. Carbs are broken down into glucose, which raises blood sugar levels. Many studies show that a low-carb diet helps reduce blood sugar levels and prevent blood sugar spikes. Dr. Christopher Sonnier also suggests increasing your overall fibre intake. Fiber slows carb digestion and sugar absorption. For these reasons, it promotes a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels. There are two kinds of fiber: insoluble and soluble. While both are important, soluble fiber specifically has been shown to lower blood sugar levels (think avocados, flaxseed, legumes, etc.). Lastly, try drinking enough water to help you keep your blood sugar levels within healthy limits. In addition to preventing dehydration, it helps your kidneys flush out the excess blood sugar through urine.

One observational study showed that those who drank more water had a lower risk of developing high blood sugar levels.