Treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and risk of pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common cancer of the exocrine part of the pancreas with poor prognosis. Up to 85% of PDAC patients are diagnosed with diabetes or hyperglycaemia at the time of diagnosis indicating that impaired glucose homeostasis is a common event in this cancer. A mechanism of association between PDAC and diabetes is very complex and still not fully understood. Currently, the various classes of anti-diabetic drugs are used in diabetes treatment. It is possible that specific types of anti-diabetic drugs for diabetes may have different impacts on pancreatic cancer development. Moreover, the intriguing question of whether diabetes can facilitate PDAC development remains unanswered. This paper presents the results of recent studies on the effect of the anti-diabetic treatment used on pancreatic cancer risk in diabetic patients.