Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Aug;45(7):986-91.
doi: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000000590.

Weight Loss, Diabetes, Fatigue, and Depression Preceding Pancreatic Cancer

Sara H Olson  1 , Youming Xu, Keri Herzog, Amethyst Saldia, Ersilia M DeFilippis, Peter Li, Peter J Allen, Eileen M O'Reilly, Robert C Kurtz
Affiliations

Weight Loss, Diabetes, Fatigue, and Depression Preceding Pancreatic Cancer

Sara H Olson et al. Pancreas. 2016 Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to determine the severity and co-occurrence of established and potential paraneoplastic conditions in pancreatic cancer (weight loss, new onset diabetes, fatigue, and depression) and their relation to patient characteristics.

Methods: Using information from personal interviews with 510 cases and 463 controls, we obtained adjusted odds ratios for weight loss, long-term and new-onset diabetes, fatigue, and depression before diagnosis. Among cases, we investigated the extent to which these factors occurred together and the characteristics of those reporting them.

Results: The adjusted odds ratio for weight loss (>3% of usual weight) was 27.0 (95% confidence interval, 17.1-42.6). Severe weight loss was common (21% of cases lost >15%), and was more common in those previously obese. Diabetes was more common in cases and was strongly associated with weight loss (P < 0.0001). Diabetes in cases more often led to prescription of insulin, compared with controls.Fatigue and depression were significantly more common in cases than controls but not related to weight loss or diabetes. These conditions were not related to stage at diagnosis.

Conclusions: Weight loss, often severe, and new-onset diabetes frequently occur together before diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Fatigue and depression are also potential precursors of diagnosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association between weight change in patients with pancreatic cancer and presence of long-standing (≥3 years) and new-onset (<3 years) diabetes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yachida S, Jones S, Bozic I, et al. Distant metastasis occurs late during the genetic evolution of pancreatic cancer. Nature. 2010;467:1114–1117. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aggarwal G, Kamada P, Chari ST. Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in pancreatic cancer compared to common cancers. Pancreas. 2013;42:198–201. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Raghavan SR, Ballehaninna UK, Chamberlain RS. The impact of perioperative blood glucose levels on pancreatic cancer prognosis and surgical outcomes: an evidence-based review. Pancreas. 2013;42:1210–1217. - PubMed
    1. Sah RP, Nagpal SJ, Mukhopadhyay D, et al. New insights into pancreatic cancer-induced paraneoplastic diabetes. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013;10:423–433. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Holly EA, Chaliha I, Bracci PM, et al. Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer: a population-based case-control study in the San Francisco Bay area. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2004;2:510–517. - PubMed

Publication types