Pancreatic fat accumulation evaluated by multidetector computed tomography in patients with type 2 diabetes

Pancreatic fat fraction in dual-energy computed tomography as a potential quantitative parameter in the detection of type 2 diabetes mellitus

PURPOSE

To investigate the clinical value of measuring pancreatic fat fraction using dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) in association with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included patients who underwent abdominal DECT between September 2021 and July 2022. The fat fractions in the head, body, and tail of the pancreas were calculated using fat maps generated from unenhanced DECT images, and CT values were measured at the same locations. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to analyze the reproducibility of measurements from two observers. Diagnostic performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves.

RESULTS

Seventy-eight patients, including 45 T2DM patients and 33 controls, were enrolled. The fat fractions of the pancreas were significantly higher in the T2DM group than in the control group (pancreatic head: 8.4 ± 6.3 % vs 5.1 ± 3.9 %; pancreatic body: 4.8 ± 4.0 % vs 2.7 ± 3.9 %; and pancreatic tail: 5.3 ± 3.2 % vs 2.7 ± 2.9 %, all p < 0.05). And the CT values of the pancreas were significantly lower in the T2DM group than in the control group (pancreatic head: 41.1 ± 8.5 HU vs 45.7 ± 4.6 HU; pancreatic body: 44.4 ± 5.0 HU vs 47.4 ± 3.7 HU; and pancreatic tail: 44.5 ± 5.0 HU vs 47.6 ± 3.2 HU, all p < 0.05). The fat fraction of the pancreatic tail was the best indicator for distinguishing T2DM patients from the controls (area under the curve: 0.716 (95 % CI: 0.601, 0.832), sensitivity: 64.4 % (95 % CI: 48.7 %, 77.7 %), and specificity: 78.8 % (95 % CI: 60.6 %, 90.4 %)).

CONCLUSION

The DECT fat fractions of the pancreas could be a valuable additional parameter in the detection of T2DM.

Fatty Pancreas-Centered Metabolic Basis of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: From Obesity, Diabetes and Pancreatitis to Oncogenesis

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest types of cancer, and it is currently the third most common cause of cancer death in the U.S.A. Progress in the fight against PDAC has been hampered by an inability to detect it early in the overwhelming majority of patients, and also by the reduced oxygen levels and nutrient perfusion caused by new matrix formation through the activation of stromal cells in the context of desmoplasia. One harbinger of PDAC is excess intrapancreatic fat deposition, namely, fatty pancreas, which specifically affects the tumor macro- and microenvironment in the organ. Over half of PDAC patients have diabetes mellitus (DM) at the time of diagnosis, and fatty pancreas is associated with subsequent DM development. Moreover, there is a strong association between fatty pancreas and fatty liver through obesity, and a higher intrapancreatic fat percentage has been noted in acute pancreatitis patients with DM than in those without DM. All these findings suggest that the link between fatty pancreas and PDAC might occur through metabolic alterations, either DM-related or non-DM-related. Based on clinical, in vivo and in vitro evidence, the current review highlights the etiologies of fatty pancreas (including fatty infiltration and replacement) and the fatty pancreas-associated metabolic alterations involved in oncogenesis to provide crucial targets to prevent, detect, and/or effectively treat PDAC.

Association between insulin-like growth factor 1 and pancreatic volume in type 1 and type 2 diabetes: cross-sectional study of a Japanese population

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

Although IGF-1 is known to promote organ growth, including exocrine pancreas, the association between plasma IGF-1 levels and pancreatic size remains unclear in diabetic patients.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the correlations among pancreatic volume (PV) based on computed tomography, IGF-1 levels, age- and sex-adjusted IGF-1 levels (IGF-1 Z-score), and C-peptide levels in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) (n = 51) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) (n = 104) in a Japanese population.

RESULTS

PV was significantly correlated with body weight (BW) in both types of diabetes. PV adjusted for BW (PV/BW), IGF-1 Z-score and C-peptide levels were significantly lower in patients with T1D than T2D. There was a significant positive correlation between C-peptide levels and PV/BW in both subtypes of diabetes. IGF-1 Z-scores were significantly correlated with PV/BW in patients with T1D (r = 0.37, P = 0.007), but not T2D. Although IGF-1 Z-scores were not correlated with age, age of disease onset, disease duration, HbA1c, or C-peptide levels in both types of diabetes, a multivariable liner regression analysis revealed that IGF-1 Z-score and C-peptide levels were independent correlates of PV/BW in T1D patients, while C-peptide levels were a sole correlate in T2D.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Decreased IGF-1 levels might be one causal factor for smaller pancreas in patients with T1D.