• Wei-Chih Liao, Yu-Kang Tu, Ming-Shiang Wu, Jaw-Town Lin, Hsiu-Po Wang, and Kuo-Liong Chien.
• Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, 7 Chang Shan South Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, 17 Hsu Chow Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
• BMJ. 2015 Jan 1;349:g7371.

ObjectiveTo evaluate potential linear and non-linear dose-response relations between blood glucose and risk of pancreatic cancer.DesignSystematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective observational studies.Data SourcesSearch of PubMed, Scopus, and related reviews before 30 November 2013 without language restriction.Eligibility CriteriaProspective studies evaluating the association between blood glucose concentration and pancreatic cancer. Retrospective and cross sectional studies excluded to avoid reverse causality.Data Extraction And SynthesisTwo reviewers independently extracted relevant information and assessed study quality with the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Random effects dose-response meta-analysis was conducted to assess potential linear and non-linear dose-response relations.ResultsNine studies were included for analysis, with a total of 2408 patients with pancreatic cancer. There was a strong linear dose-response association between fasting blood glucose concentration and the rate of pancreatic cancer across the range of prediabetes and diabetes. No non-linear association was detected. The pooled rate ratio of pancreatic cancer per 0.56 mmol/L (10 mg/dL) increase in fasting blood glucose was 1.14 (95% confidence interval 1.06 to 1.22; P<0.001) without significant heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis excluding blood glucose categories in the range of diabetes showed similar results (pooled rate ratio per 0.56 mmol/L increase in fasting blood glucose was 1.15, 95% confidence interval 1.05 to 1.27; P=0.003), strengthening the association between prediabetes and pancreatic cancer.ConclusionsEvery 0.56 mmol/L increase in fasting blood glucose is associated with a 14% increase in the rate of pancreatic cancer. As prediabetes can be improved or even reversed through lifestyle changes, early detection of prediabetes coupled with lifestyle changes could represent a viable strategy to curb the increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer.© Liao et al 2014.

22 keywords...

hide…