Glycemic Control as an Early Prognostic Marker in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Glycemic control and cancer outcomes in oncologic patients with diabetes: an Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM), Italian Association of Medical Diabetologists (AMD), Italian Society of Diabetology (SID), Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE), Italian Society of Pharmacology (SIF) multidisciplinary critical view

BACKGROUND

 Increasing evidence suggests that diabetes increases the risk of developing different types of cancer. Hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia and chronic inflammation, characteristic of diabetes, could represent possible mechanisms involved in cancer development in diabetic patients. At the same time, cancer increases the risk of developing new-onset diabetes, mainly caused by the use of specific anticancer therapies. Of note, diabetes has been associated with a ∼10% increase in mortality for all cancers in comparison with subjects who did not have diabetes. Diabetes is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with cancer, and more recent findings suggest a key role for poor glycemic control in this regard. Nevertheless, the association between glycemic control and cancer outcomes in oncologic patients with diabetes remains unsettled and poorly debated.

PURPOSE

 The current review seeks to summarize the available evidence on the effect of glycemic control on cancer outcomes, as well as on the possibility that timely treatment of hyperglycemia and improved glycemic control in patients with cancer and diabetes may favorably affect cancer outcomes.

Clinically impactful metabolic subtypes of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal disease characterized by a diverse tumor microenvironment. The heterogeneous cellular composition of PDAC makes it challenging to study molecular features of tumor cells using extracts from bulk tumor. The metabolic features in tumor cells from clinical samples are poorly understood, and their impact on clinical outcomes are unknown. Our objective was to identify the metabolic features in the tumor compartment that are most clinically impactful. Methods: A computational deconvolution approach using the DeMixT algorithm was applied to bulk RNASeq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas to determine the proportion of each gene's expression that was attributable to the tumor compartment. A machine learning algorithm designed to identify features most closely associated with survival outcomes was used to identify the most clinically impactful metabolic genes. Results: Two metabolic subtypes (M1 and M2) were identified, based on the pattern of expression of the 26 most important metabolic genes. The M2 phenotype had a significantly worse survival, which was replicated in three external PDAC cohorts. This PDAC subtype was characterized by net glycogen catabolism, accelerated glycolysis, and increased proliferation and cellular migration. Single cell data demonstrated substantial intercellular heterogeneity in the metabolic features that typified this aggressive phenotype. Conclusion: By focusing on features within the tumor compartment, two novel and clinically impactful metabolic subtypes of PDAC were identified. Our study emphasizes the challenges of defining tumor phenotypes in the face of the significant intratumoral heterogeneity that typifies PDAC. Further studies are required to understand the microenvironmental factors that drive the appearance of the metabolic features characteristic of the aggressive M2 PDAC phenotype.

Hyperglycemia predicts adverse prognosis in advanced pancreatic cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent comorbidity in pancreatic cancer. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on the association between diabetes and pancreatic cancer outcomes. However, research on the impact of hyperglycemia on the prognosis of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer is limited.

METHODS

Information on patients with advanced pancreatic cancer was collected from a prospectively maintained database, and the patients were divided into the hyperglycemia group (fasting blood glucose ≥7.0 mmol/L) and the normoglycemia group (fasting blood glucose < 7.0 mmol/L). Patients with preexisting diabetes were not included in these groups. The associations between hyperglycemia and clinical variables or prognosis were analyzed.

RESULTS

Among 697 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and no prior history of diabetes, 25.3% were diagnosed with hyperglycemia. Patients older than 65 years had a higher risk of developing hyperglycemia (P = 0.044). Patients with hyperglycemia had a worse prognosis than those with normoglycemia (median survival, 7.5 vs. 8.8 months, P < 0.001). Hyperglycemia was associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio = 1.38; P = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

Hyperglycemia predicts worse overall survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Association between type 2 diabetes and 5-year overall survival in early-stage pancreatic cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Background

This study examined the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 5-year overall survival (OS) in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC).

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with stage I/II PC at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2012 to December 2017. All patients had pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma or its subtypes. The outcome was the 5-year OS rate based on data from the patient charts. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0.

Results

A total of 238 patients were included: 72 with T2DM and 166 without T2DM. There were significant differences in blood glucose levels and OS between the two groups (all P < 0.05). The median OS was 11.4 (95% confidence interval CI [8.49-14.31]) months in the T2DM group and 16.3 (95% CI [12.44-20.16], P = 0.023) months in the non-T2DM group. After adjustment for confounders, T2DM was an independent factor affecting 5-year OS (P = 0.010). Compared with non-T2DM patients, T2DM patients had a higher risk of death (HR = 1.475, 95% CI [1.096-1.985]).

Conclusions

T2DM is associated with 5-year OS in patients with PC.

The Role of Endoscopic Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis and Staging of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death and the second gastrointestinal cancer-related death in the United States. Early detection and accurate diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer are paramount in guiding treatment plans, as surgical resection can provide the only potential cure for this disease. The overall prognosis of pancreatic cancer is poor even in patients with resectable disease. The 5-year survival after surgical resection is ~10% in node-positive disease compared to ~30% in node-negative disease. The advancement of imaging studies and the multidisciplinary approach involving radiologists, gastroenterologists, advanced endoscopists, medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists have a major impact on the management of pancreatic cancer. Endoscopic ultrasonography is essential in the diagnosis by obtaining tissue (FNA or FNB) and in the loco-regional staging of the disease. The advancement in EUS techniques has made this modality a critical adjunct in the management process of pancreatic cancer. In this review article, we provide an overall description of the role of endoscopic ultrasonography in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer.

The Prognostic Role of Glycemia in Patients With Pancreatic Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels are associated with the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Aim

To examine the relationship between perioperative glucose and HbA1c levels and prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Methods

PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were queried for potentially eligible studies published up to May 2021. The exposures were perioperative fasting glucose and HbA1c levels. The primary outcome was survival. The secondary outcome was complications. All analyses were performed using the random-effects model.

Results

Ten studies (48,424 patients) were included. The pre-operative (HR=1.10, 95%CI: 0.89-1.35; I² = 45.1%, P_{heterogeneity}=0.078) and postoperative (HR=1.19, 95%CI: 0.92-1.54; I² = 67.9%, P_{heterogeneity}=0.001) blood glucose levels were not associated with the survival to pancreatic cancer. Similar results were observed for HbA1c (HR=1.09, 95%CI: 0.75-1.58; I² = 64.2%, P_{heterogeneity}=0.039), fasting blood glucose (FBG)/HbA1c (HR=1.16, 95%CI: 0.67-1.68; I² = 0.0%, P_{heterogeneity}=0.928), and FBG (HR=1.75, 95%CI: 0.81-3.75; I² = 79.4%, P_{heterogeneity}=0.008). Pre-operative blood glucose levels were not associated with postoperative complications (OR=0.90, 95%CI: 0.52-1.56), but postoperative glucose levels were associated with postoperative complications (OR=3.06, 95%CI: 1.88-4.97; I² = 0.0%, P_{heterogeneity}=0.619).

Conclusion

Blood glucose, FBG, and HbA1c levels are not associated with the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer. Postoperative blood glucose levels could predict postoperative complications.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Intersects With Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis and Development

The relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and pancreatic cancer (PC) is complex. Diabetes is a known risk factor for PC, and new-onset diabetes (NOD) could be an early manifestation of PC that may be facilitate the early diagnosis of PC. Metformin offers a clear benefit of inhibiting PC, whereas insulin therapy may increase the risk of PC development. No evidence has shown that novel hypoglycemic drugs help or prevent PC. In this review, the effects of T2DM on PC development are summarized, and novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of T2DM and PC are discussed.

CD26/DPP-4: Type 2 Diabetes Drug Target with Potential Influence on Cancer Biology

Simple Summary

Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitor is widely used for type 2 diabetes. Although DPP-4/CD26 has been recognized as both a suppressor and inducer in tumor biology due to its various functions, how DPP-4 inhibitor affects cancer progression in diabetic patients is still unknown. The aim of this review is to summarize one unfavorable aspect of DPP-4 inhibitor in cancer-bearing diabetic patients.

Abstract

DPP-4/CD26, a membrane-bound glycoprotein, is ubiquitously expressed and has diverse biological functions. Because of its enzymatic action, such as the degradation of incretin hormones, DPP-4/CD26 is recognized as the significant therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes (T2DM); DPP-4 inhibitors have been used as an anti-diabetic agent for a decade. The safety profile of DPP-4 inhibitors for a cardiovascular event in T2DM patients has been widely analyzed; however, a clear association between DPP-4 inhibitors and tumor biology is not yet established. Previous preclinical studies reported that DPP-4 suppression would impact tumor progression processes. With regard to this finding, we have shown that the DPP-4 inhibitor induces breast cancer metastasis and chemoresistance via an increase in its substrate C-X-C motif chemokine 12, and the consequent induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the tumor. DPP-4/CD26 plays diverse pivotal roles beyond blood glucose control; thus, DPP-4 inhibitors can potentially impact cancer-bearing T2DM patients either favorably or unfavorably. In this review, we primarily focus on the possible undesirable effect of DPP-4 inhibition on tumor biology. Clinicians should note that the safety of DPP-4 inhibitors for diabetic patients with an existing cancer is an unresolved issue, and further mechanistic analysis is essential in this field.