{"id":610502,"date":"2026-05-29T15:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/610502\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T15:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:02:21","slug":"type-2-diabetes-could-be-a-sign-of-this-deadly-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/610502\/","title":{"rendered":"Type 2 diabetes could be a sign of this deadly cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

A charity is raising awareness that a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes<\/a> could be a sign of something more serious, particularly if accompanied by weight loss<\/a> or a low body mass index (BMI). Paula Hanford, chief executive of Pancreatic Cancer Action, said: \u201cMany people don\u2019t realise that new-onset diabetes can sometimes be linked to pancreatic cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile most people who develop diabetes will not have cancer, this link is seen in a significant proportion of pancreatic cancer cases and could make a live saving difference if recognised sooner.\u201d Insulin resistance and raised blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes cause inflammation<\/a> which damages the pancreas.<\/p>\n

Up to 30% of pancreatic cancer patients are thought to develop new-onset diabetes.<\/p>\n

Pancreatic Cancer Action has supported research which showed type 2 diabetes can appear up to three years before a pancreatic cancer <\/a>diagnosis, offering a crucial window for earlier identification.<\/p>\n

Ms Hanford added: \u201cIn 2022, NICE updated its guidelines to reflect this evidence. The guidance now recommends that people aged 60 and over who develop new-onset diabetes alongside unexplained weight loss should be urgently assessed for pancreatic cancer, including fast-track access to scans within two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor patients, this is hugely significant. It means there is now a clear pathway for earlier investigation, giving more people the chance of being diagnosed at a stage where treatment options, including potentially curative surgery, are still possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pancreatic Cancer Action is dedicated to improving survival rates through early diagnosis. Surgery<\/a> before the tumour has grown and spread to other parts of the body is more likely to be successful.<\/p>\n

The disease is often spotted late because it has vague symptoms, which can be hard to distinguish from other conditions.<\/p>\n

These include pain or discomfort in the mid-back or upper abdomen, jaundice, indigestion, loss of appetite and fatigue. Nausea and vomiting, a change in bowel habit and unexplained weight loss are other possible signs.<\/p>\n

Around 10,500 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year in the UK. It is the deadliest common cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than 7%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A charity is raising awareness that a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes could be a sign of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[847,49116,59,102,207741,15950,15037,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-610502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-cancer","tag-early-diagnosis","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-nice-guidelines","tag-pancreatic-cancer","tag-type-2-diabetes","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}